We've had two prospective buyers come through the building already.When I heard about the sale, I instantly thought "What an opportunity." and then I started thinking about what I could offer.  

You can pay to get owner information instantly as well which is quite nice, do get a few for free though.

You are not going to live there, but there are a lot of people, who would like to live in area x in a heartbeat.Appreciation is important, and cash flow along with instant forced appreciation (when flipping) is even better.

If you can accurately determine what the place would sell for if all the work was done, then back out the estimated rehab costs and back about 5-10% more so the incoming buy has instant equity and therefor an incentive to buy using that loan style, it could net you more money.An alternative is you could refinance it using one of the above mentioned loans, get a contractor to do the work and when done, sell it as a completed rehab that is move in ready and get full market value with a much larger pool of buyers to work with. 

The thermostats, for instance, you can manage from afar and most utility companies give you instant rebates on them. 

Since the market my property is in has low comps, the instant equity could be an issue. 

Currently I'm trying to work an owner finance deal that will allow him to slowly make the decisions he need to make for asset allocation and end of life planning, without an instant tax consequence.This has been a brutal process and I've learned a lot. 

Too much leverage is when you do not have instant liquid asset access of at least 1 year of living expenses (that includes the house notes) and access to capital for expected/unexpected repairs and maintenance.

If you purchased and lived in a single family home its instantly a negative cash flow situation that you pay for 100% of all expenses.

Sam W.I don't have the expectation of instantly making money.