Hi Anibal,Obviously there are a lot of ways that you could make these properties more productive.

Looking forward to a prosperous and productive New Year for all!

Many are vendors trying to sell their products and services to the investors.  

Not knocking that stuff, I went the guru route for my education, but just know those sales are where the REIA makes its money.Sounds like yours was more of a full time pitch than a normal REIA, but as far as I know, they are all in the educational product business.

Um, I dunno, like I said his podcasts don't seem guru-ie, although he does sell educational products which does seem guru-ie.

The house was boarded up and actually had grow lights in two bedrooms (I'm sure that was for the production of ficus tree's...couldn't have been anything illegal :) ).

I often run across members with an interesting product or service that I don't necessarily want right now but may want to refer back to in the future. 

You can get any conforming loan product up to 80 percent loan to value-- you don't need a home equity loan to tap into paper equity on a house you own free and clear.

Ask the realtor to give you comps for the finished product (so you know that even with a 10% down market that the builder has wiggle room and can pay you).

The triumphs (Yes, I did just score a closeout deal on product that actually matches the design and adds $800 to the bottom line) and the Marketing and selling (which is where the fun really begins).