I think this is what they were talking about:http://m.spokesman.com/stories/2011/oct/13/foreclosures-up-14-percent/Of course, any report on the national housing situation doesn't necessarily mean a hill of beans to your local market.

I've never seen that "abandoned" notice but I did go to one vacant short sale where personal mementos and clothes were thrown all over the place, and the back door was wide open.I think it is good news for you as a buyer, if you are interested.

Check out this report on residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) that came out on Oct 5.

classes allow you to track each property without having different accounts for each property, and you can create profit and loss reports for each property.

Then I got the news that my offer was rejected with no counter etc.

.* Cam Scanner- uses your phone to scan paperwork for email* NPR News/BCC- my two favorite news apps* Pandora- radio* Bank/Brokerage Apps

Assessed value has nothing to do with market value or what you should pay.You are buying this property based off the income approach as an investment but generally single family properties use the comparable sales approach for valuation,lending,and appraisal purposes.Local recent sold comps would be a better gauge for current market value than looking at any assessment value.Now you do want to look at assessed value for property taxes.Fighting the property taxes and getting them reduced will improve your yearly bottom line.Make sure the cash flow of the property they are reporting does not include exemptions that do not apply to you or they have been putting off capital costs and maintenance to show and INFLATED NOI.

No mortgages allowed.If this bill becomes law it would seem it would have a positive impact on the real estate market, and for some of you here.Here's a link to an article:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/nri/visa-and-immigration/us-homeowner-visa-invest-500000-in-property-and-stay-in-america/articleshow/10443154.cmsAny thoughts on this?

Thank You Jon and Nathan for your input.If you had a report showing the actual expenses holding true at 4k per month for the past 2 years would it change your thoughts on cashflow/cash on cash ?

If you have a relationship with a title company, they will likely run a preliminary title report for you for free.