This form of investing is only for those who are very skillful in the real estate business and have great knowledge of the laws - federal and state.You must strictly follow many laws.

We've run a good cop/bad cop routine for years.It can get a bit out of control sometimes, but for the most part I respond with a "talk to the PM" response to almost all of their inquiries.

in lafayette they became much more strict and if you want to rent per room they upped the permit from $500 to $5000...

Hi Eva,Thanks for your insight and to answer your questions. 1 & 2) I have not decided if I will make this purchase with a down payment, through a private lender, or make an all cash offer.3) This is strictly an investment property and I will not be living in it.4) The place is currently rented to a long time tenant that's been living there for the past 3-4 years.

It sounds like a good deal but maybe properties in that area sell for under $30k routinely.

Then I got side-tracked by a career change that involved significant travel for about 4-1/2 months, at the end of which my wife and I welcomed our first and second children into the world (ask me sometime about getting "the call" while out in the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania).Perhaps it was the podcasts, perhaps it is the new work environment, perhaps it was the realization that in 18 years I'm going to be paying $$$$$ for two college tuitions simultaneously, but I have shifted my focus away from strictly buy-and-hold to a phased approach.

Our house is in a nice not-too-strict HOA neighborhood with lots of family-type homes, 3bdrm, 2.5bath.

The maintenance may not be a big thing because it sounds like you are looking to help them out and you would be compensated monthly so I would expect the routine activities would be covered.

No, HUD gives the asset managers very strict guidelines on how to respond to bids.

I routinely use Rob Leece from Sensible Home Staging in Brighton.