A higher due diligence fee can make your offer more attractive, but obviously this is risky and also takes away some of your power during inspection for negotiation (the seller knows you have more to lose and may be less willing to negotiate).   

In my area refuse and sewer are the most common, but I have seen water and electric provided by the government as well.

Because, you could talk to just about any lender you want, but if you don't have a way to qualify (be it income, asset, gross income, etc.) you are still going to be sol.Yup, so either educate yourself on how buying power is determined and/or start contacting some lenders and see what they can and cannot do for you, and why. 

There's a clubhouse, laundry, kayak rentals, bathrooms/showers, some recent renovations (new plumbing, electric, landscaping, etc.). 

I realize there are city and zoning regulations, permits, converting the hvac systems/water meters/electrical panels, etc.

hi everyone, this is my first time posting to bigger pocketsi am an airline pilot in my mid 30s and looking to create a new life for my wife and myself and our baby on the way. i have dove deep on BP and been scouring the bookstore and the podcasts and learning as much as i can about investing in real estate. we currently live in a 1b/1ba home we own, and no longer owe any debt. i bought it for $120k in 2015 with 2br/1ba, met my wife the next year, she moved in and we gutted it and rehabbed it ourselves (aside from some structural flooring stuff and the final electric and water connections) and blew the tiny bathroom out into the adjacent bedroom, making the house a 1br/1ba. we did all the framing and flooring, paint and drywall and fixtures ourselves. we plan to add an additional bedroom or two, and possibly another bathroom, in the unfinished attic at some point. i was granted a HELOC for $120,000 with my local bank after it got reappraised a month ago at $163,000. i think we spent around $25,000 on the rehab so i'm feeling pretty darn happy about the situation. obviously the covid exodus from boston and new york have pumped real estate prices but we dont really plan on selling any time soon; but possibly renting it out if i get relocated for work.i am trying to find my first investment deal, and my wife and i have narrowed down our plan to aim for a rental with cosmetic rehab and solid tenant base. we thought about house hacking. i'm not sure of where i'll be sent next with work, but i will be sent somewhere else soon. our local market (vermont) is not very landlord friendly so we are looking at long distance, self-sufficient rental as our first investment. i am leaning toward student rentals, and after searching and comparing prices and stuff we have chosen to focus on a few different college town markets in the TN, KY, WV region. i have found a property i think might fit. its a triplex with three 1br/1ba units and off street parking, split utilities, w/d in each unit, located a half block from campus. it seems in decent shape, its been on the market over 200 days, and is listed at $190,000 in a market i believe i can ask at least $750 per unit for rent, which would bring my cash flow to near $1000/mo if i used the calculator correctly.what next??

Last December, we had a huge electrical problem and the tenants were without power for 3 days.  

I was wondering what option would be more valuable for the res-sale of the home.Option 1: Take advantage of the long driveway and convert the two-car garage into a studio or 1bed 1 bath space. orOption 2: Keep the two car garage.I also considered finalizing the permits for the ADU space (since I will already by waiting on permits for the main home) and leaving it as a blank "ADU ready" with adequate structural, plumbing and electrical for the future buyer to complete if they wish.Thank you everyone for your opinions and I look forward to being a part of the BP community!

Prices drop and those of us with liquidity pick up the pieces at pennies on the dollar.If you have cash flow, you have staying power, and can make it through the bad times. 

Exterior/Interior paint, installed A/C unit, New electrical + panel, Appliances, Vinyl flooring throughout, bathroom upgrades What was the outcome?