I commend you for attending to the problem quickly and effectively.

Sorry to hear that the market is getting tough for you guys.I'm wondering if the new mortgage regulations that rolled out for first time buyers will have any effect on the process -- hopefully eliminating those in the market who don't actually have the assets to be a serious investor.

To blindly say that to go to a guru is wrong, or stupid, or a waste of money is just as bad as heading to the back table at a seminar without really knowing what you are doing.

What are some repairs that are can be easily and effectively done alone or with a friend rather than hiring a whole team to do the job?

Whenever there is a bargain to be had or profit to be made, investors and businesses should step in, buy up the bargains, offer lower prices in order to gain market share, and effectively make the prices more fair to consumers (in this case, renters).

I avoid wasted time with showings where somebody must have a dishwasher and my unit doesn't have one.

Couple that with the huge drop off in people actually reading newspapers and it is now a fairly expensive media that most people say if not that effective either.I know some markets still have it being useful (to market to buyers or sellers or renters) but I have never heard of one MA investor say that it was useful for them (for any of those groups).

. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Mentioned above was the aspect of people who don't really know what a lender may be required to do arising from their internal lending policies or what they think or how they may be effected as being silly is an understatement.

The lender will do their own appraisal and counter the price offered generally to the apprasaised value.In my opinion and experience short sales are a waste of time to chase unless they just fell out of escrow and the short selling lenders approval is based off a old value and you can swoop in and get a deal.TL;DR short sale listing prices are mostly fictitiously low, subject to the short sale lenders appraisal and approval.

If you purchase one in addition to that, it could be a waste of money (aside from piece of mind) as the bank's appraiser will produce the report and value they find.