We did an awning over a basement that flooded   Added parking.  

in my area i'm looking at a cheap foreclosed lot with a burned out house needing removal. coincidentally I just saw an ad for low (ish) priced custom houses, available for 0 down if you have land.the way I see it, it's just finding numbers that work (thank you Bigger Pockets) can I get the land cheap?

This is an opportunistic strategy with a lot of moving pieces and the riskiest of all investment strategies in the real estate universe (the safer ones being core, core plus and value-added).

@Michael Plante Account Closed My apologies - I completely missed the fact that you're a licensed agent. 

@Michael Plante FULL DISCLOSURE: no experience yet in commercial property (except MF residential) ...and only done rehabs, no building/development.Isn't commercial really just a waiting game anyway?

Advertising costs alone can run in the hundreds a month for a single unit; StreetEasy now charges $3/ad/day; that's $90/month for one ad only!

1) at $23k there isn't a lot of room to negotiate down especially since there are closing costs and the seller has to move, so I'm not surprised they won't go down. 2) from the description it sounds like it needs a lot of work and adding a closet (literally just some studs, drywall and a door) is not going to cost much if you do it while you are tearing up, replacing and fixing up everything else.Are you sure the issue isn't just that it's your first and you are getting nervous? 

@Michael Plante That's a good point.

I can't increase rent by rehab/adding living space.

I have saved up and have enough to live on for a year without any added income and I have been successful in getting pre-approved by several hard money lenders.