You must have some troubled banks there, didn't know FDIC was giving out free tickets to banks to walk away from collateral loans! 

Some of the hurdles I've encountered so far:-Finding a deal that provides for a lot of initial equity, with manageable rehab that keeps me around 70% ARV (possibly a little higher since I will probably be holding for at least a year)-Finding the above in a good location that will appeal to young professionals like myself and keep me close to the urban core of Tampa-Rounding up the cash for a wholesale deal, taking the chance on a private money loan for a wholesale deal, or qualifying for an FHA loan for a Fannie Mae Homepath type of deal.

Pay extra attention to the big ticket items, roof, hvac, etc....just a thought. 

It makes the world go round!

I think if you are in a higher price point and you have a more upgraded cabinet/kitchen you can get away without it if that is the clean modern style you are going for.  

The problem is, big ticket expenses like roofs, furnaces, and driveways don't change much whether you're putting them in a $85,000 lot or a $200,000 house, so they eat more of your bottom line on a cheaper property.  

Are the $400 plane tickets worth it once every half year?

We have 5 properties in the mountains, upstate NY that we rent by the night and week, year round. 

personally, i like the real estate market in florida. like any other state, there are good an bad areas in florida, i am sure, so you would have to scope out the areas you would like to invest in and see what they hold for you. take a vacation to an area that you would like to invest in and drive around a bit. if it looks like a bad area, mark it off your map. if it looks good to you, do some research on the area. look for vacant houses. talk to the locals, etc. then, make your move. i would not invest in an area that i am not close to. keep it local. if you get a new job in the same field that you are in now, FHA will consider it the same as if you stayed in your current job because it is a related field. the big plus, the weather. here in western new york, we get about 4 months of the year where you can do decent outside work on a house, then you have to fight the weather for the rest of the year just to get a place finished. and lets face it, you will be rehabbing a house, so why not go to an area where you can work on it nearly year round?

Depending on the level of the you can probably get away with wiping them down with denatured alcohol, putting some cardboard down and doing a quick paint job.