Each person has to decide the risk/reward of how they want to structure their investments.

As stated by the other individuals.....You have to value the property compared to what people are buying, not what they "Could be buying" which it seems atleast part like what you're doing.If 6/8 sold homes in a area are foreclosures, then that area is REO dominant, which means declining sales prices, and if you open up your search range, you fall into the trap of looking at other areas with higher/different values.If the properties wer $57/sf then that's what they are worth.

comparable for what I've managed long term in stocks, though below what money managers will tell you stocks should make.

Your own analysis from going to open houses, and seeing what homes in the area sold for that are comparable.3.

., a comparable price to other properties in the area, you're probably paying too much for it to be a profitable investment.

I've got a ruger red label picked out to reward myself when I hit a certain benchmark in my REI.Tim

Next, look at the comparables of complexes near yours.

Always be evaluating your “orders due†compared to the new orders you’re planning on excepting. 5.

Also, an LLC does eliminate self-employemnt tax compared with an S-corp where you must pay yourself a reasonable salary which would include self-employemnt taxes.

I deal primarily with REOs working with clients on the purchase of them (About 75% of my business).Banks and AMs have a process they use to look at offers, some pay attention to the names coming in on the contracts, some do not.If you included a letter stating you were not associated with the other party, you should be good.During a multiple offer situation, this is USUALLY how banks view offers, in order of importance, and these do have a great effect with who they do choose to be the one to buy the property.Purchase priceClosing costsFinance typeEarnest Money DepositI've had buyers to win contracts over other bidders not by purchase price, but by the fact they had cash to close, or were willing to put down $10k as compared to another buyer's $1k.