Using Sharad's and J Scott's tips we screened the prospective tenants and avoided the ones with the red flags.

In addition to what Ed stated, the numbers you provided look like they could put you in the red on a monthly basis, or only break even.Have you factored in taxes, vacancy allotments, insurance, repair allotments, and (if applicable) HOA dues?

If the seller doesn't want to share sales figures that is a big red flag.

My "scamdar" was all the way in the red by the time it asked for my credit card number.

Total Cost: $51,000.Potential Profit: $24,000 ($300k - $276k)88.88% ROI on monies invested which is $27k (bold numbers)If you borrow the entire $27k from a private lender and pay 12% that's $3,240Adjusted Profit: $20,760.

(At this point, I offered to have him added to a phone call that I would start before with a bank representative on the line--to avoid him hearing sensitive account information--and he rejected this proposal: HUGE RED FLAG.

Wouldn't expect this to be a red flag, but thought I'd check.

Adding an additional insured or co-insured (you agent should give guidance to the best arrangement) is not a violation of the trust agreement, it is a red flag to investigate if there has been any violation.In an estate planning situation, in some cases, you can have an additional insured who might be the administrator of your Will to settle any insured loss without having to reinsure a property in the event of any loss during their duties.

The rugs went from a light tan color to black and red(the spaghetti sauce).

We screened her well - and she came back fine, no red flags, no background problems, etc.