Do most realtors charge a fee for the MLS info?

You can contact both subcontractors and general contractors to get an idea of what they charge for these.

I have had one tenant burn out a ceiling fan because it was so dusty that when it was cleaned enough dirt went in the motor to stop it from working.We use Home Depot life time warantee paint so if a tenant puts holes in our walls it's a 25 dollar fee per hole and if it's scratched or dirty they are charged regardless of how old the paint is because it's warranted as long as I own the home and it's not damaged. ( The tenants are told to hang items on the wall with Command strips ) I use them in my own home and they work well.Our laminate floors carry a lifetime warantee as well so if there is wear or damage from not caring for it the tenant is buying a new floor.

It's not what I would consider a "hardened" building for rental and I do have some emotions tied up in the old girl.

Instead they just want to get the pain over with as quickly as possible.You also have to find a bank that is motivated and doesn't want the property (shopped) listed by the seller to fully expose multiple offers and compete with other investors.This is why many people wholesale.They make a few k on a marginal deal and let other investors take the high risk.Then they only buy when they get a really good deal for themselves.I would say "Do not get emotionally attached to this deal and overpay because you wanted to BUY SOMETHING" Instead just treat it as a property and if someone overpays for your goals then move on to the next.Remember it is easy to build a crap portfolio with marginal returns.It is much,much harder to build long term quality properties at a great price that will create generational wealth for the your family.

Tenant leaves belongings in unit (do everything you can to ascertain whether they are comming back for property [if they still have time before the deadline], and document in detail all you do [in case they say you got rid of their family heirloom thingamabob]), any expense you incur to deal with those left behind belongings very well may be justification for charging against the security deposit.Also, just a note - many landlords in OH do not know this, but OH law requires landlords to mail to the former tenant a written accounting of how the security deposit was spent (i.e., what % refunded and what was spent for what).

The fee, since it is a short sale, is probably related to a service for processing the short sale on behalf of the listing agent.If this fee is part of the purchase contract where you agreed to pay for title and closing costs, then you should contact the title company because they are required under RESPA to clearly describe any and all fees charged as part of closing.If you did not already agree to pay for the fee in advance, then call them on it.

If you have completed any amount of short sales you do upfront work first to not waste time.Never take what a seller says at face value.They will tell you anything to try and get help to solve a problem but the issue is they don't know they are hurting instead of helping.The problem with sellers is at first they are motivated to do a short sale.Then as time goes on and credit is ruined and they have moved out they become emotionally detached from the property.The buyer have unrealistic time lines to close for a short sale.You need to know if your market is declining,flat,or appreciating every month.If it's appreciating or flat the benefit is to the buyer.If it is declining the benefit is to the bank because by the time it close it might have lost 5 to 10 percent of value from the contract price.Your bank actually moved pretty quick with the short sale compared to some others.A buyer and a seller need to understand it could take 3 to 6 months or longer to do a short sale.A friend of mine that is another broker in Florida has completed over 800 short sales.He is a master at them.I did residential for a few years but then moved to commercial so I haven't kept up with all the regulatory junk on the residential side.He does all residential and does not take the short sale unless the seller agrees to certain conditions from the beginning.

You also need to take into account if your competition is waving the security deposit for qualified applicants,charging a pet fee or not,paying for any water,sewer,trash for the tenant included in the rent,including appliances,or giving a rent credit on move in, and many other factors.Rent rates can look good until you see how many landlords you are competing with,quality of the product,and incentives given driving down the net rent before debt service and depreciation.

With that said, finding a mentor who doesn't want to charge me $5,000 or more for an "apprenticeship" is a tough gig all by itself.