David,Are you donig REOs strictly in your neck of the woods?

Prehung exterior doors will take about as long to install as the repair I suggested, but may give a more secure result if a wood frame is replaced with a steel one.

Knock on wood, but it is time to create my own destiny and take it out of the hands of corporate America!

Still, I think it is short-sighted as it skews the expectations of buyers and encourages mortgage holders to walk out on their mortgage.The market around here seems to be picking up. 2 houses within a block of the one I have for sale sold this week, and 2 more down the other direction within a 1/2 mile.

The Piney Woods region is in East TX which is abundant with recreational areas.

Problem is, it's wooded with no city utility access, no sewer, no water.

Other than getting it custom milled, which I assume would be expensive, your other option is to trim the house up to window height all along the front to cover that the siding doesn't match.Or, perhaps if the architecture of the house allows it, just do wood shingle under each window.

Also, they sent a notice to us that our brand new wood fence needs painting.

There are some Fall grass mixes (mainly rye grass that is annual) that might germinate; I would seek sod ASAP to be certain that this will look presentable since you are flipping.Now, if you were going to be renting this place, I would not worry about the bare ground so soon ...If the hardwood stains are truly just water, it's not so bad - it will be minor to blend the new stain; if urine, you have discoloration of the wood that cannot be removed - at best it gets covered over, and dark stain is used for that if it affects significant area of the floor.

Big investment to buy sight unseen.