If they are not solvent at this time its almost given that they will need to issue an assessment in the future to not only get out of the red, but improve or bring the hotel back to occupancy condition.I'm not saying this is not a good investment, I don't know anything about your situation, just make sure you do your research.

If the majority were cash deals, then that raised a major red flag.

If the seller is upside down or in the red on their cash flow they might not make these improvements.Then the anchor might leave to go elsewhere.People like newness and convenience.If you don't keep your center fresh and updated the traffic flows will start to reduce and tenants will look for greener pastures.Even if you have a full strip you have to think and plan for these things.Often with franchisees there are re-imaging clauses every so many years that cost a bunch of money.They should be putting away each year for this but instead find themselves in trouble when the new look should be rolling out.It's all about PLANNING.

You will receive valuable advice on how to proceed and hopefully, keep you in the black (not the red).Also, to elaborate on what Nick stated, the "G" word "Guru" is looked on as a negative noun because we think that gurus are greedy money grabbing crooks who take advantage of poor unsuspecting newbies hungry for RE education and they prey on that.

I can't imagine how frustrating it must be to deal with that level of financial red tape.Unfortunately, this is not all that uncommon these days.

OK, I am convinced that porcelain is better than the cheaper red clay tile for rentals, but what about for your own residence, assuming you're going to be more careful with the floors than renters would be?

It varies state by state on what level a real estate broker/agent can help a seller with a short sale on the residential side.In some states brokers/agents simply submit a contract and attorneys for the parties do the rest.In some states brokers/agents can help with workout options but in other states they must hold a mortgage license.There is also Federal requirements and disclosures brokers/agents must use when listing a short sale.The government calls it "the short sale streamline process".I call it a bunch of red tape that isn't needed which creates more government oversight and bloat wasting our tax dollars.Depending on loan type if the property is FHA then they can only accept a certain amount off of appraisal.A few years back it was easier to massage the bpo using different strategies to get close to your purchase number.Today more banks are using agents with experience doing bpo's and also the banks have controls in place to almost eliminate any manipulation by investor purchasers on value.Another point is if your area is declining by 1 percent a month and it takes 3 months for an approval by the time you close you have lost 3% in value.How you approach a short sale and an acceptable number will depend on what you are doing with the property.Margins and hold times are different for assigning,flipping,and rentals.

Is that a red flag that it's almost May and they're still not approved?

Red flag #1: Guru holding a free seminar (it really is not free, it is an up sell to costly programs, boot camps, and personal training sessions to the tune of many thousands of dollars.Red Flag #2: The advertisement video shows a clip of attendees dancing and cheering and all excited in the audience = Hype and more Hype which is all fluff and BS.Red Flag #3: So-called top RE flip investor in the country - then why not keep flipping rather than market courses and seminars?

Those are the original hardwoods, solid red oak from 1965.