call me crazy, but regardless of all else, I don't see him foregoing 150K in equity so he can avoid 25K in repairs.

I am in need of information on good contractors for all aspects of renovations (electrical, plumbing, etc).

Or better yet - how to avoid them.

The more you pay off the more net worth you have.Sometimes when the sale price is really low we will pay cash to avoid the hassel and time of getting a loan, but for the most part it's 20% down.

If she was ever served with a notice of foreclosure, even if the lender did not follow through with the sale, she can't do anything with the property except sell it and payoff the lien.The law allowing for the forgiveness of debt to avoid taxation is about to expire so now that she has waited she may have a tax liability on amounts written off from her underwater property.A short sale would be best, if she qualifies, but to do a short sale the owner must have a financial inability to pay, I'm not sure the bank has to agree if she is sitting on cash.IMO, she needs to pay as agreed, catch up the loan, then lease it over time allowing the value to come back and then sell it. :)

To avoid transactional funding, try a reverse assignmentSay you have a deal:A to B - purchase price $100KB to C purchase price $130KYour profit is $30KAssign your interest, Use a mortgage - DOT and a note for your $30K profit.Get paid from closing, use escrow instructions, use a letter of intent and get it signed from the seller and new buyer to be transparent.

There may be aspects of PMI or MIP changes as well, but it's not under any regulatory issue that I've seen.It's going to vary from one lender to another how they look for profitability and manage risk in portfolio lending.

. $100/unit/month is a reasonable planning goal.Now regarding you question about cash flow and class of neighborhood... if you want to be hands off, please focus on higher end rentals.In my opinion, lower end rentals need landlords to advocate for the neighborhood else it'll stagnate and possibly take a turn for the worse.If you’d rather avoid the default leadership role, then aiming for less cash flow would be wise.

I am hoping to get into the flipping and/or new development aspect of REI in the New York/Tri-State area.

You also might get a better deal through those stores and avoiding big box.