I think that it is safe to say that if there is money to be made, then nothing can scare away the seasoned investor.How would you address my secondary question - which jobs carry the highest risk of hidden costs.

I think the answer is yes, but I wanted to get the perspective of some other seasoned investors.I bought this condo for my primary residence about 10 years ago with essentially nothing down.

I checked VRBO for other 3/3s in the building and for the most part booked through the season at around $2400-$2700/week.

I was advised by a more seasoned investor once that if the smell is bad in the unit then the tenants/buyers will associate the house with uncleanliness- no matter of it's an irrational judgement or not.

Also if you have enough cash without it then there won't likely be any "seasoning" issues but if you HAD to use that cash you would want it sitting in the bank for a couple months so they don't give you a hard time about odd huge deposits.Also since you said you would live in it to start at least the last plan of taking out a HELOC on the new place right after buying it is totally fine.  

I'm seasoned enough to know that if something sounds to good to be true that it probably is.J Scott I believe the meeting was to take place in Benin???

I would love to hear thoughts from seasoned investors and any lenders.

The advice of more seasoned landlords would be welcome.

Given that 5+ unit complexes puts you in the commercial real estate realm, you know will be dealing with seasoned investors that rely on the numbers to value property vs. comps.I think by buying turnkey properties, it really limits your ability to find smoking deals.It’s not impossible, but certainly much more difficult.However, you may be able to find a turnkey property that has poor management (unlikely) and force appreciation by improving on that fact without doing much else.

Lots of history combined with new culture create a niche in rehabbing, big federal and state agencies here, large corporate headquarter presence, active entrepreneurs ....and my favorite (as far as living), mild weather with all four seasons:) @Trevor Ewen "jump" into Richmond