hi david. seems like a good deal on the surface. however, there is always the unseen repairs on any house when you are looking at a rehab deal. your $10k will probably become $20k before you know it. even at that, it still seems like a good deal. here is the big issue i find. refinancing to pull your cash out means you will probably refinance around $100k, pulling out your $15k equity. at todays rates, and adding in your taxes, your payments will probably come in at around $800 a month. if you can get $850 a month out of it, you are coming out ahead, except when you factor in maintenance costs and such on the rental property. then, if you suddenly find yourself without a tenant in the house, you are paying the whole payment yourself out of your pocket. are you prepared to do that?

on the surface they just instantly say Nope we can't do it and move on. 

On the surface this sounds like a negative cash flow property.

As for pets: we just charge pet security deposit of an additional $150, but then $15-25 per pet per month depending on size...There is definitely more than one way to skin a cat.  

There too, while many of these crowdfunding sites can assist in your equity raise, they are going to need some "skin in the game" and a track record.  

You can shear a sheep many times; you can skin him only once.  

On the surface it appears that the simple laws of supply and demand are in play - a growing work force is chasing relatively few properties which is forcing home prices up - nothing unusual there.

But in any case please don't take someones word for it on some forum when they have no skin in the game.

I am also just scratching the surface in REI.

At the bare minimum, you'd want to collect the following details from the current owner (or their Agent representative)... details which you'll definitely need for your financier / hard money lender:Current rent roll (which will also tell you appx vacancy %).Monthly expenses (they should have this, or at least a ballpark of it quarterly / annually).Owner's tax return (or at least the P&Ls for this building).Any major repairs needed.Any major improvements / upgrades / renovations / repairs recently completed.This is really just scratching the surface on a big deal like the apartment building here, however, it might be a hot one, so don't be intimidated.Find other experienced people in your local market you can work with, refer to them for their expertise, and if they are also excited about the deal, you know it's hot.Hope this is helpful, and best of luck!