I find it strange that this area of real estate investing is so unclear.

It is so silly, no one has a home phone line anymore!

Allen, There is so much to say about this, but I will gloss over any of the underlying parts of the deal if you get it and go right into the "how".A deal like that is not done with a cold call, it is done with relationships.

She wondered how I got that price, as it is so close.

"That doesn't mean anything.Just like when 2 people start dating they show just the better side of themselves.Later is when all the problems surface.This is why credit and criminal is so important as you get information from a non-biased source on their history.If the credit report show job stability that can be a plus as well.You have to make the tenant have skin in the game so they behave themselves and get their deposit back.If they don't have a big deposit and first and lasts I would move on.

I think I have a solid business plan put together, but there is so much to learn.

Sorry this is so long winded just wanted to cover everything

What is so special about it and what makes you want to buy it?

If the property is so bad that "it should be condemned", the other buyer won't be getting financing anyway - A single hole in the drywall, a single stolen light fixture, or even excessively "dirty" carpet will prevent a loan these days - just wait a couple of weeks for the deal to implode and re-submit your offer...

The whole point of me doing this is so I can hit my first goal of $5000 profit or more per month so I can quit my job to run my business full time.