Check the state regulations concerning HOAs.I know that in one state where I purchased a new condo there is a law (about 5 years old now) that requires there to be a reserve fund set up and the costs of all items to be estimated over their effective life.

I figure there are three options: (1) get an agreement from him, get it inspected, buy it for cash - that would be ultra-fast and get him out of trouble - only of course I don't have $180K lying around (2) help him get paid up for all his debts in exchange for him selling the house to me, and then I get traditional financing - what are the exact steps here, though?

I leaning towards "no" for a number of reasons---1) The three programs that I'm aware of require a min. of 52) Blanket loans are traditionally a commercial product and most won't consider any property types other then commercial.That being said, there might be something a local brick and mortar bank might offer that might do the trick...I'm in the early discussions with a 4th investor for a residential blanket loan that has a pretty min. loan amount (50K)---they could be the ticket, but I'm unsure at this point.

i guess the way i view land trust's is that it is an excellent benefit for person who wants to purchase, but can't right now in the traditional way.they get to work on strengthening their credit, plus they get the write offs. it would seem to make the chances better that they will perform with the eventual outright purchase, versus a straight lease option.i haven't done one yet, but i just closed on a deal where i am going to set one up. so, until i've actually set one up and than closed on the sale, i won't know for sure. jim

what is the best approach for a newbie sub to, lease option or the traditional home or apartment borrowing?

Most stagers tell people that they need to have baskets for their personal items and pack up everything and hide the baskets.

However if it's in the thousands, then thats another story.I assume that even when this is a self directed IRA I will still be able to invest in the traditional things like stocks, bonds, etc...

There are small additional fees for translation services, foreign corporation registration and similar items, but nothing that I think you would call extravagant.

Once you are finished with the rehab, put together a simple itemized final report of everything done to the property and what it costs.

Can someone explain to me the pros and cons of trying to rehab HUDs for resales or rentals as opposed to the traditional means of searching for distressed sellers to get you a discount?