Doing some testing has shown that the single highest return on effort is posting multiple times on Craigslist on Monday.

He can't really test the plumbing.

A lender as part of the appraisal will generally look at a "stress test" for  a center.

Remember, you have 2 free tickets to the Intensive 2.5 day land investing training bootcamp (which never expire) as well as 2 free consulting calls with me or one of my team to get your questions answered.BP is an amazing community and you'll find a lot of valuable information here, but don't hesitate to reach out at any time as I personally want to see you succeed in your new land investing endeavors!

Really test the market to be sure you have acceptable demand for your affordable housing product.  

In finance and accounting we look at a "Quick Ratio" (also known as the Acid Test) this shows the ability of a company to meet obligations, but this only looks at current assets or liquid assets and current liabilities, real estate is not a liquid asset.So we move to other ratios like "Current Ratio" and "Cash Ratio" these to help to illustrate the ability of a company to cover current debts.As to mortgages or long term debt, coverage is difficult to predict due to uncertainty over longer periods, but by looking at the current coverage and cash available we can see what funds remain for these other obligations.Most everyone is familiar with the debt to income ratio we suffer through at a loan application, say 24/36, meaning that you should not pay more than 24% of your income to current liabilities, revolving accounts and car loans, the 36% includes the 24% to establish your ability to cover the mortgage, total debts should not exceed 36% in this instance.

And let's say that nobody is willing to bid above $100K, so the bank gets the house back.While it may be true that the bank's purchase price of $100K wasn't a very good deal (as Rich pointed out, the bank "overpaid" for it at $100K), that doesn't mean that investors won't have the option of picking the house up as an REO for much less than $100K.In fact, the bank will probably list the house on the MLS at between $70-100K (given the scenario above), and if there are no takers, the price could easily drop by another 50% or more.So, while investors had no opportunity to pick up the house for less than $100K at the foreclosure auction (which wouldn't have been a good deal), they very well may get an opportunity to purchase that same house as an REO for $50K or less.And buying REOs is *much* easier and less time intensive than buying at auction (in my opinion and experience)...

@Stephen Spearman could you test yourself to make sure you do not have it and then do no touch virtual zoom tour?

You're role as an investor is to filter for motivated sellers, and the phone call is your opportunity to determine if a deal is possible by determining if you have a seller who's hot to go.What you're listening for are signals they're willing to walk away for little more than what they owe, or are willing to give up tons of equity just to get the thing out of their hair.And when they suggest terms or a number, you test by asking "Would it help?"

Anyone have a suggestion for testing the apt for meth residue?