The good news I think attaining the money, especially at your age is a doable thing.  

Alexander, I would recommend to talk to somebody that can figure out weather it's a deal or not first.If it is a deal and you have it under contract you can: shot a video of the house, post it on YouTube and add a link of the video on Craigslist as " handyman special" etcPut an ad in the local paper for $200List it in the market place on BPAdvertise it at your local REIA Title Co is a business that completes real estate transaction and records documents at the County.

Another ditto to @Jenkins Ramon picking a fight with the DNS, which is what I'd assume they'll think with the no trespass, signs, contesting stuff, etc is basically like committing "RE investor suicide', you're FAR better off getting a good rep with them as someone who when they buy a place, the DNS automatically knows it is good news for the block, neighborhood and city.

I don't hear about them in the news, they are a non-profit, and because they are local they respond quickly to or are very understanding regarding local problems (like govt shutdowns in DC).

I plan to deduct that amount from my profit on the deal, but I wasn't sure if I would need to submit some documentation to partner and to the IRS to ensure I do not have to pay income tax on his portion.

"Pre-foreclosure" really only means "prior to the auction sale", not "pre-filing".That said, if there's still a hard-copy newspaper in your target area, check the legal notices, or try their on-line news website if it does not require a subscription.

I simply called the number, introduced myself, and asked if the documents were received.

SRI has some useful documents under their documents and links portion.

We found a house that we wanted to buy, he worked late with us until about 9pm on a Saturday to get all the documents together and offer submitted so that it would be on the sellers desk first thing Monday.

@Carol VenoliaIt seems to me after reading multiple online news articles from California recently that rents have become a huge *political* issue for activists in the state.