The last improvement or worthwhile repair was in 1997, The uncle really let it go…Linval- Your right about the family part, I didn’t want to type to much in the initial post, but I keep going back to the numbers because the money that the in-laws get from the sale will get the 3 brothers who are essentially squatting in the other property to move out.

Account Closed  that's one way to do it, these are so cheap just throw away the ones that don't work after running cost your probably netting 350 to 400 a month over time. so in 50 months you have your initial capital back.. the proof in the pudding will be how you do in year 2 ,3 ,4 ,5 ... any market is sustainable in the first year of a new rehab..

Like I said we did some things wrong, the initial contract was bad and we should have never signed it.

The GC was familiar with the area but didn't include any of those repairs in his initial bid. 

Three years is a long time to recoup your initial investment capital when you have assumed the renovation risks.  

An initial down payment or earnest money is not financing.

Ok, now that you have taken your initial step, below are some quick links to get engaged.http://www.biggerpockets.com/startherewww.biggerpockets.com/meet Setting up Keyword Alerts How to Use @Mentions on BiggerPockets 25 Tips for Real Estate SuccessREI can be very daunting, but, before you go searching for that 1st buy, please take a few minutes to bone up on the tips in link below.http://www.realestate.com/advice/buying-your-first-investment-property/

I misspoke in my initial post - the tenants are actually NOT under lease.

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Moreover, for educational purposes, the advisor whose clients have their monies tied up in only so many investment vehicles(securities) could further leverage that same money by borrowing against just one of those securities, fund RE deals(not even mine) and let the same initial security investment work a double for him/her.