Hoping someone can explain or walk me through the logic and pros and cons of waiting for 1 to 2 years vs buying something now and potentially trying to exit in three years versus holding it a little longer to tide a bad phase if it does occur.

So it is hard to say if they are good or bad, it just depends on the deal. 

Norfolk is very spotty on crime rates - Ghent is upscale but surrounded by impoverishment, then the city goes into a pattern of good street, bad street, good street, bad street.. for about 20 blocks.  

@Melanie HeigesOkay. that makes sense.You have a few choices for flips:your own cash, or cash pooled with other investors.hard money or similar private lenders.You don't typically get a traditional bank loan for flips due to the condition.So, you would either get hard money loans that will lend for distressed properties or use you own cash.Hard money lenders base their lending on the project, not on your personal finances.

I was successful reducing the tax by a couple thousand dollars on one property a few years ago doing it DIY, but my comps for another were bad and got nothing.https://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/lpt/ptappeal.pdf

Obviously the drywall stuff looks bad, but not being experienced with termites I wasn't sure how much something like this would cost to fix? 

Is it a good idea or bad to invest in those areas of Texas because of hurricane season and flooding?

I know, the property management is so bad!

@Kevin Mika Shame on you for lumping GCs in one bad basket.

Not a bad idea but expensive and not guaranteed. 2.