Nope, never, nada....not with a traditional loan.

Most traditional lenders won't call a loan as long as you continue to make payments, even if the property drops so much in value that you become upside-down on the loan (i.e., you owe more than your house is worth). 

If this is correct the answer is that value is based off of either comparable properties that have sold, or the income that the property produces.

In terms of ARV and comps, you should never compare rehabs with new constructions as they are vastly different.

But they don't break the bank when compared to the taxes saved by being able to put exchange dollars to the improvements.

During inspection periods we have found a $60K cost ($40K of which was fixed price by the municipality) and a $50K cost.I closed on both these properties at a reduced price (one reduced the price significantly (the ~$50K issue resulted in $46.5K reduction) and one reduced the price moderately compared to the cost (the $60K resulted in a $9K reduction)).I do not know what your earnest money is. 

How do your pics look compared to the other properties in the area? 

If I understood you correctly, and you are getting a 30% return on your cash via your stock portfolio, and you compare that to your IRR for this property and it is less than the 30%, why switch?

The one challenge I have found in higher priced markets is that rents, while very high, are not high enough compared to the sales price, so the deal doesn't make sense.

Traditionally I have always done my own taxes, but now that our portfolio has more than doubled (also looking at a duplex in the Spring), I am in need of someone who really knows the intricacies of real estate tax laws to maximize our return for years to come.