The house I am looking at is a private sale from an older family friend moving into senior living (discounted).

Making memories with family and friends for pictures and videos become what is most treasured as people get older and more life experience.

Some of my Scottsdale connections who specialize in land deals have been whispering about how a few smaller outfits in Casper.. from what I’ve heard, outfits tucked behind older storefronts, have been matching buyers with off-market parcels that never even hit the usual channels.If you line up your financing carefully (no legal or tax advice here, just speaking from experience), you can sometimes lock in a deal that ages nicely over tthe years.

Look at only listing older than 3 months.  7.  

BiggerPockets is full of resources designed to help you along your journey, whether you are just getting started or a seasoned investor.

This is because I allocated $80k revenue (because not yet stabilized) and subtracted $10k for 2 months in off season to get STR ready (so only $70k revenue the 1st year).

And by higher risk I mean higher risk of tenant issues  generally older homes with a lot of long term differed maintenance. limited opportunities for any REAL appreciation . 

You'd be surprised how often a deal can happen using this strategy but it is also important to run the numbers and make sure your COC return, etc are in line with your expectations.Probably the lowest risk is partnering because a seasoned investor will verify the deal (hence their participation) and likely take care of the initial money required.

The one percent and 2 percent rule ive never looked at ... cap rate is .. meh .. its there - what im most concerned with is the price of the home relative to comparables and cash on cash to start.   9)  I look  the other way if it is a multi unit that is not separately metered - thats always one of my criteria here in pgh as there are a lot of older homes and a good portion you wind up worrying about who will cover utilities.  

Unless you are a seasoned real estate investor with professional title searching skills, I wouldn't do this.