Hey guys, I'm still starting out and learning quite a bit about a lot of this stuff, so bear with me.

. :)The first question should be - are you buying from a homeowner or an investor?

@Pedro PadiernaA couple things that I noticed that may or may not have any bearing in ppl not applying. - cleanliness.

The city says its not an arms length transaction, but a distressed sale and the price paid then has no bearing on the fair market value with the city.

The guidance is:When providing a reference, you can answer only one question: “is xxx subject to rehire.”When providing a reference for a rental, you can answer only one question: “would you rent to xxx again.”So, if someone calls you for a reference, regardless of the questions asked, your reply should be, “are you asking me if I would rent to them again?”

Office and commercial space has caused investors to lose serious money during protracted down turns; people however will always need a safe place to live.I too have money in mutual funds-like Vanguard and Fisher; but by the time you pay management fees they really don't offer the kinds of returns available in MF, and they will suffer during bear markets.So if you are thinking there may be a contraction, and we always should be prepared, don't get too leveraged and keep enough cash accessible to get you through tougher times.

Does the number of years the property was a primary residence have any bearing on converting it back to a residence before selling and preserving the capital gains exclusion?

They advise converting some stocks to cash as to protect ones life time savings during a bear market.     

Hey @Kevin Lefeuvre, You've poked the bear and I've only had one cup of coffee!  

Prices, under these circumstances, usually have no bearing on current market conditions.