That being said, we decided a $170,000 offer would make it attractive.

There were definitely some anxiety producing moments, so having an experienced partner is the only reason I was able to pull it off.

Maybe you want to make a quick buck by flipping it, or maybe your plan is to hold on to it long-term as an income-producing asset.

It sounds like your project goal was similar to mind...keeping it a higher end product to attract higher end occupants.

Both of those features definitely attract more guests.As far as numbers, we grossed $73,000 in our first year, over $90,000 in our second year, and easy potential for $100K+ in our third year.

If you want to invest in real estate he can make some suggestions on how to posture your financial picture to make you attractive to lenders and investors.

Then you have the cash to make a full price offer on a smaller property of produce a 25% downpayment on 4x the price property. 

The low purchase price was attractive, but after we discovered the damage was not as significant as we feared we realized this house would be a home run.

Think of your condo (or any non income producing property/single family home) as a LIABILITY.

This is a second home and I already have 2 other rental properties producing income.