I found the home as a for sale by owner by owner and it had a four car garage in a great location with a large lot.

It’s safer, and honestly you aren’t spending it, you’re moving it from one asset class to another.

Things like landscaping/snow removal and labor cost for repairs are going to be highly variable based on your market so you'd need to do your own research on the going rate by either talking to other local investors, running your own google search, or exploring basic services on thumbtack/angies list etc. 

My wife and I used to do flips in this area, and I have a couple listings along with long term rentals I manage in the area..For the co-host, they typically do not handle permitting and other items like that (this can be agreed upon between you and the co-host.

That's the way to do it, nothing like inheriting some lien free property.

It doesn't sound like a lot, but I do NOTHING except cash the check.

@Varun Batra sure can do!

We call it an ELA (Express Loan Approval) where we can close in 15 days or less because it already underwritten.That ELA will outbid any offer even in some cases an "All cash" close because an "All cash" offer is usually well under the ask price.

I agree - it's a smart way to get into real estate—especially if you want to save on living costs and start building wealth.

Rode by this beautiful home everyday and it made me sad to see it falling down.