They must be able to afford a housing expense--be it renting or buying--and I calculate backwards from that.

If you have excellent credit and a history of success, you should be able to borrow about 70% of the appraised value (calculated by the bank's appraiser).

Why can't you do that in 1 minute or less with a calculator?

Have you ever done rehab work before and understand the costs, any potential permits, etc.While you might save money doing it yourself, please calculate in the holding costs while working on the property that you might save by having it done by a professional as they do it better quality and faster!

Best bet is get a good Realtor who knows the area you are working in to give you comps.

Farve makes average receivers better - Cotchery and Coles will throw up a total of 1500 yds between them-Patriots have the EASIEST schedule this year, I bet they get beat by the Chargers in Jan in a rematch

Ok you mathematical guru's - can you calculate my return on investment?

So, unless the house currently has a Section 8 tenant in it, to say it's "Section 8 approved" is misleading at best.There are a LOT of factors that go into the rent calculation by Section 8.

If you don't it will negative cash flow.Note that most investors ignore very important items like capital reserves, vacancy, repairs, etc. when they calculate "cash flow" on single-family investments.

Quite honestly, Jason, this is a very uncomfortable market to be over-extended in.I would bet that those of us who are low on mortgage payments are sleeping better right now than those who have heavy mortgages to meet and tenants who are losing their jobs and can't pay rent.When you get ready to retire, it is quite nice to have rents coming in and no mortgage payments going out.