Speaking from experience on both sides I would advise this.

Thanks Julie Nearing and others, I'm not an agent and will be listing it with a half percent realtor, but offer 3% to the buyer side.

I [thought] I did my homework carefully; experienced Borrower in a very hot market with a low ARV.

I could have located on the North Side far more cheaply, but it looked cheap and was once a housing project.Look for amenities that other rentals can't offer. 

Is the market "hot" there, and likely to remain so?

St Louis Real Estate Investors AssociationSouth Side Investment ClubLifeonaireI'm just starting out too.  

unless this property is in a hot area, I would pass.

Ideally, I'd like to get bids before I place an offer in order to have a good handle on the rehab costs and place my offer accordingly, but on the other side of the coin, I could potentially place offers on many different properties before having one accepted, all the while I'm getting bids from contractors for which the job for them doesn't materialize.Or, do I visit the properties myself and with my agent, make an very rough estimate of rehab costs, make an offer based on the estimate, and then bring contractors in for bids *after* getting the property under contract, then potentially renegotiate the offer price if the bids come in higher than estimated?

Hello BP Family, We're interviewing seasoned CPA's who work year around and focus on Real Estate both on the brokrage side and investmenting.

Do the same with the neighbors on each side and across the street.