I shoot generally for 1% for my cash flow properties in my market (The 2% neighborhoods are too high risk for me) and my appreciation play properties might be about half a percent.

The short sale is dead.....period.  

I don't think it was difficult,  but you do have to play close attention to the wording and definitely have a clear understanding of concepts. 

I have a drop dead deadline of March 15 for my clients to give me their information.  

If you can honestly say you could put a a single mother and infant on the street in the dead of winter for non payment of rent I may be wrong.

Sell, then buy the worst house for the lowest price (the one with the most unrealized potential, for value adding later) in your chosen area closer to work/school with your $200k deposit, and then later, go the HELOC route to BRRRR the best compromise-properties your research arrives at between distance, neighborhood appreciation play, and rent returns.

@Aaron Litzenberg Winter weather is definitley an issue, but you can also play it to your advanatage: sellers tend to get a little bit more motivated once Thanks Giving comes into sight and some banks seem to be willing to get bad assets of the books before they close the quarter and the year.

Both parents are dead now and the house is held in a living trust that I am co-trustee of with one other sibling.

You will find some BP authors promoting 100% leverage (NOT me--I play it somewhat conservative).

Would you sacrifice the monthly cash flow for the equity play?