I got the deal with seller carrying note for 12 months at $1,000 a month principal only, no interest, and tenant pays $1,200 a month so having him stay and pay is not a bad option but he is constantly late on paying so I could have the eviction option after I give the 60 day to evict, but the yard is full of cars and trailers and if he can move those out it will save me money as well and he will be paying down the loan each month, but games can start if I wait or hold off.

Laws might vary state to state but generally speaking of the judge has ordered possession, your ex has no choice.

not doing the work yourself if you find bad things when demo is done could REALLY increase what it will cost to flip thisI am really impressed with the answers you receivedMaybe post up every room and get feedback lol

Great question and really not that bad of a situation to be in.

@Brian Cornick It wasn't bad or good.

This is just a start, but I think with a bit more information, you can avoid the usual answers here like, KC, Indy, Memphis, Austin, Cleveland, etc, etc (these are ALL fine markets, but I would assert that investing in any of those cities is NOT always the best choice for the out-of-state investor, based on answers to the questions above, as there are success stories on REI in almost every town in America).

I can't remember off the top of my head what we learned about lease to own in law school, but I remember thinking it was bad mojo. 2.

From speaking with another (actual) investor, I learned that this group operated heavily in the Stockton and Sacramento area.Bottom line: if you come across someone who tells you that you have to pay to learn from them, I would suggest to continue looking - it is possible that you may learn something from the "education," but, in higher likelihood, you'd only end up deeper in debt, or worse, in a bad RE deal that they could not find anyone else to sell to.There are plenty of honest people still around, many are successful and some of those have blogs and podcasts that you can learn from for free (although, they still seem to have something to sell you, but it is a fair trade off.)

None of this is to say that this property is a "bad" deal.  

He had to deal with many of the exact same issues; non-paying tenants, turnover/foreclosure, and even repairs.Just as an example, he had a lower income couple buy a home from him and they had a bad storm come through and damage the roof.