Here's an interesting story that I read today.http://www.bobparsons.com/My16Rules2006.htmlThe above (or following) article (or rules for survival) is included with the permission of Bob Parsons (http://www.bobparsons.com) and is Copyright © 2004-2006 by Bob Parsons.

"industry" rule of thumb is if the rent is over $800 - refrigerator should have an icemaker and be sure to inventory any appliances in the lease agreement....I agree - offer $800 for all three.

Here is what happened after 2 years when I needed to sell.1) The builder had relocated to a subdivision close by and was still manufacturing the same style house and floor plan I had bought2) There were only a total of 3 different types of houses on my street 3) For some reason and I think because the community was not organically grown there were 20 homes on the market, so I was competing with 7 other identical homes.

DON'T GET CONFUSED WITH REAL ESTATE LOSSES GENERATED BY NON-CASH DEPRECIATION EXPENSE AND SEC. 183 HOBBY LOSS RULES.

But its all about your agreement and the rules of the state that you are in.VladBTW, I'm not an attorney so don't construe this as legal advice.

Unless you are renting rooms in a home you also occupy, L-T rules apply - otherwise, most states allow boarders to come under "innkeeper" laws.

That was absolute insanity.Read the first 100 or so pages of Kevin Phillips' new book, "American Theocracy" wherein he traces the rise AND FALL of other nations over the past several hundred years, based solely on their DOMINANCE of (and then, unfortunately their inability to adapt from) the "best available" ENERGY SOURCE OF THE TIME.The Netherlands in the 16th-18th century controlled WATER and WIND power to such an extant that they could automate shipbuilding to such an extent that they ruled the (commercial) waves, and were able to free their workforce from many labor intensive tasks.

I sent you a colleague request with my info or if it's not breaking any rules my email is [REMOVED] thanks in advance, Lance

However, what's a good rule of thumb when making an offer (i.e. 30% less than the asking price) w/o insulting the builder.

There are no firm and rapid rules on how a person can become a successful real-estate investor.