Henry,I think our form is about 10 pages including lead paint disclosure.

I spent the next 8 years gutting, rewiring, replumbing, roofing, drywalling, painting, etc., while working a full time job and raising 4 kids.

ok I have this place that I'm looking at for my own personal home. it's REO and listed with an agent, they are asking 197k for it.its 3br/2ba, 1660 sq ft...theres confusion on that too I've seen an old mls from 2002 stating it was 1800sqft tax roll shows 1660 2br/1 baththe property is another issue, this broker says it 1.1 ac, the prop survey is showing 4.5ac, an old mls has it as 3.5 ac...so it really needs a survey to be sure. i know for sure it's much more than 1.1acanyway, its a modular home, either 1994 or 1999 depending on who you believe. it needs some repair, new air unit for sure (3k), new kitchen (3k)probably carpet, paint, mostly cosmetic. so i figured 15k for conservative figures. comps in the area are going for about 190-230k in full working order. it's tough to calculate ARV when the surrounding area varies from 80k to 1.5milso this is what i calculated.....195k and its an REO, so 30-40% off or 70% or arv = 136.5k - repairs (new heat/air 3k. carpet 2k , paint 1k , kitchen 3k, 9k not including what I havent seen) I figured bout 15k to be safe. which brings me to 136.5 (-15k) =121,500 fair value depending on the amount of property could be another 15-30k an acre depending on who it belongs to .

Also there is a much stronger market for the $600 rental.The downside is that you have 4 times as much painting to do, 4 times as many appliances to replace when they die, 4 times as much roofing and the insurance on 4 will cost more than the insurance on 1 or 2, quite a bit more in every state that I'm aware of.

Do I just update the main house, and just leave the other 3 buildings alone, maybe just painting and fixing up in a minor way?

I think I can buy two 4plexes in the $250k range that will spit out $25k in rent each year, after paint and updating, I think I can pull $30k out of each.

While and A/C, carpet and MAJOR APPLIANCES need to be capitalized I've never had a problem EXPENSING painting, sheetrock repairs, repairing (actually replacing) interior doors etc.I generally went with the $100 rule.

However, I viewed a 2/1 home that was renovated, new roof, flooring, paint, ac, etc for $26k that rents for $425 and is currently occupied.My old town is only 90 miles away and I'd be up there at least twice a month and would have a property management company manage the properties.

All needs to be "painted"/sealed.

Then you and your buddies paint the walls and paint the ceiling white.