I am a moving to Tucson for 6-8 months for a contract job.I see there are tons of cheap houses.I might as well buy a house and live in it while I remodel it.What is the current state for flips in Tucson?

The ones at $120K look new or newly remodeled.

Over 2 and a half years you could amass let's say $100,000 and start investing some in rentals, and maybe you've developed some contacts that can take care of the remodeling for you so you start doing some rehabs, too.Point being, there are multiple ways to make it in real estate, and it depends on your time, money, credit, and goals.Let me KISS it:Wholesaling requires timeRehabbing requires time and moneyRentals require moneyThere are exceptions and caveats but that's the basics.

I am starting to think about a soft remodel on a unit.Area is challenge to rent.How can I improve this small kitchen?

I do very well as I have two niche markets as a green builder and a high end remodeling specialist.

I was cruising through Craigslist and found a remodeled 2br. 1ba that is listed for $8,500.Price is too high imo, and it has to be moved.

I read somewhere that when you are remodeling a house to rent that some of the repairs actually can be written off in the year in which the remodel takes places and that it all doesn't have to be included in the cost basis.

And, I understand that I must remodel kitchens and bathrooms every 10 - 15 years, plus, I must replace the roof every 20-30 years and repaint exterior every 4-5 years and repaint interior every tenant turnover, or maybe (on average) every 2-3 years.

For my part, notwithstanding return, if I need a net of $10K/mo, then I am going to include Rev - Exp = Cashflow - 17% reserves, which will pay for most maintenance and vacancy events, but not likely for capital upgrades/remodels (remodel the kitchen and baths every 10 years and replace the roof and HVAC every 15, etc).

(we are not looking for any "big" jobs such as roofing foundation work. ) I've seen his work and he can flooring remodel kitchen/bathrooms and such.