The problem with that is it may not come back (of course with RE we now it eventually does) the problem is, then return is so depleted, it would have been better in my opinion to cut your losses and get the remaining funds back into something better to recoupe the losses rather than waiting out the market and time.I don't understand how one can claim that they account for this systemic risk in their initial purchase decision.

Should I clean up my personal finances before I even think about investing ( improve credit score, decrease debt, increase savings account..etc)???  

Make sure your leases going forward have that no-smoking in unit policy and identify the clean up costs for smoking in a non-smoking unit.

Clean up.

Save yourself the cleanup and learn about systems.

I want it so badly, and there was recently a sign on the door from a company called safe guard saying the property has been abandoned and the lender would be notified they have to clean up the yard and the locks would be changed.

Prefinished hardwoods will go in 800 sq ft with 2 guys in a few hours, maybe 5 with clean up.

Look for lipstick deals, paint, paper, clean up, landscape, and curb appeal to keep costs down.Get with a contractor who can carry rehabs to closing, materials+labor+profits, use thier money.

He's done REO clean up and mini-rehabs for lenders for years and says it taught him how much he hates spending his time (and his money) on something that needs to be done over later.

There are a lot of variables to consider when entering an auction, and if you're in a relatively competitive space, where you're depleting your budget quickly, I'd recommend you come in well under the 1st placement bid.If there are 500 searches for your target term a day, on a $150/day budget you could be #1 for a few hours, and pay $10/click for 15 clicks, or bid $5/click, rank #3,4 or 5, and get 30 clicks throughout the entire day.