I'm Brian, and I've recently made the decision to become a real estate investor.

We have decided the first step is to learn as much as possible so we know we are making educated decisions.

this is what you will have with a condo or townhome association....If they decide they want to replace roof, be prepared to pay whether it needs it needs it or not...this is just an exaggeration but i like the flexibility of making my own decisions as to what needs repair and what doesn't and determining which contractor I want to use.Again, just my 2 cents.Again, best of luck!

If the seller isn't willing to play by my terms and sell at a price that makes sense for me, the decision is pretty simple - I walk.If they need to know the specifics of how you came up with your offer price, then yeah - feel free to include the PM fees as part of your reasoning.

I need to take a long look at this before I make any drastic, legally-binding decision.

Had a construction contract with them, their work was disorganized, poorly managed, and they refused to prove to me they had done all of the work they were hired to do, because they hadn't done it.  

Got the rich dad, poor dad thing going.

Robert Joiner, they don't want to prevent poor investors from being able to move to a new house, so you get the idea, yes.

I feel kind of scummy thinking about capitalizing on this poor guys situation, but if not me, someone will.

IMHO most of CA is a poor cash flow investment, so here you may be playing a net zero game with a play on backend appreciation for your profit.