Who knows if your gentrification will actually take off or if the blight will win the battle?

Excellent question, Jason! 

Houston has a strong MLS, and Har.com is an excellent site.  

Fixing a problem is an excellent way to help.Good luck!

The in-house counter-bid keeps winning because I'm not bidding up to the reserve, and they keep putting it back up for auction over and over.

I was wondering if anyone could point in the directions of book(s), website(s) (beside just BP) or other resources where I can learn the art of structuring deals.I really want to learn two sides to structuring deals:1) Investors: How to learn the various ways to structure real estate days that will capture a potential investors interest. 2) Purchasing: How to learn the various ways to structure real estate deals that i am interested in purchasing but learning how to put it together so its not just a win for myself and my investors but also the seller. 

Learn the process, the forms, the contingencies, negotiating tactics, comps, winning in competitive situations, how to take and price a listing...I could go on and on, but you get the idea.Good luck and let us know how you do.

Can they back out of the lease and win?

Hi AllWe put our home for listing mid August, the current tenants (who were excellent by the way) are vacating tomorrow .

@Matt Hendrickson Sounds like you at least have a great start with an excellent knowledge base.