Keep in mind, this is 2 full sized duplexes on one lot.Owner evicted previous tenants as they were giving her major hassles, plus she lives out of state and didn't have someone nearby she could trust to take care of business.

They regrettably are also often of a lower class due primarily to level of intelligence. 

The house style is actually unique in this area (though not in the northeast), a tri-level.

Many lenders have a 150 mile rule.Different lenders have different rules and where they sell the loans determine the level of scrutiny each lender has. 

Only way to get to their level is to learn sales.

I just used Texas Trust for my refi.

I spoke with 3-4, and the fact this company really brought passion and enjoyed their work was obvious in our phone call in their tone of voice, level of detail and the owner's personality.

Cleanup Job (Low cost fast flip): - landscape package in front - remove deck- remove vines from house - clean exterior, fix siding and wood rot, paint neutral beige/gray color - clean driveway/weed, clean retaining wall/pavement - replace flooring with mid grade flooring bottom level, carpet upstairs - replace interior fixtures - paint interior white trim, light color beige/gray walls, popcorn ceiling removal - new kitchen appliancesRehab options:- Replace deck with new one (kind of awkward that high to me) vs Remove and fill in wall or add large window to master.- Potential space to move laundry into upstairs bathroom closet vs basement - Can maybe get away with toilet/vanity replacement in each bathroom- Uncertain if painting or replacing cabinets with ikea type is worth it- Any in-ceiling lighting will cause a disaster with electrical since it is out of date- Repave/fix concrete front porch and side porch - replace/paint railing- Replace front walkway cement, or remove walkway and replace with right angled walk to driveway (may not provide ROI)- Tear down vs paint garage port in back yard

You can buy a property and take over the financing and then sell it for more using what is called a "Wrap" in some parts of the country or "all inclusive deed of trust" in some areas and "owner financing" in other parts of the country.

Luckily, we decided to continue investing all the way through the recession and those purchases enabled us to enter real estate again at a comfort level that we were both happy with.