I have a feeling this is something you need to do daily, shopping for lenders and such, but going in knowing almost nothing is not my style and would leave me uncomfortable.

As I have heard said, a person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.

I routinely do a cash-out refi at 65% of my purchase + rehab costs; the refi is typically up to 5 years with a balloon (amortized over 20 years) @ about 7% interest, and it can be done as soon as the day after the purchase.This is pretty typical for small banks that do portfolio loans -- in fact, I know a couple other investors here on BP that get similar loans.Find a small, local bank in your area that does portfolio loans...

On maiantenance, I pay $27/hr for use of the PM maintenance staff for turns, routine work orders, and low-to-moderate skilled labor (paint, drywall, ceramic/laminate install, installing doors and kitchen cabs, light plumbing, light carpentry, etc.).

I know the frustration with the cubicle money routine and am working my way out of that myself.

They routinely (meaning several times per year) sell houses in the $120-160K range that will generate 1%+ in rent.

Judges in my county routinely discount any late that is in excess of 15% of the rent amount.

Also, thanks for the confirmation on the math.Cant go the jewelry rout, in real estate terms I believe you would say... we have a very small equity position.Progress on The Team - Real estate attorney - harder to come by than relaters around here (refer to the above post) but I've got a lead on one - we will see where it goes.

He knows when you leave and knows what your daily routine is like, so he sneaks into your house in order to eat your ice cream and pickles.

You should add on [list]-10% of your revenues as vacancy cost (turnover will run a few days/weeks a year most likely), -10% for routine maintenance like broken windows, torn rug, painting during turnover..., and -another 10-20% for long term maintenance stuff.