At least in Atlanta, the funds have driven prices big time!

I've spent several years on the sidelines reading a lot of material (Allen, Sheets, Terry, Kiyosaki, etc) and trying to find a way to enter the investment arena.

That's a ridiculous amount for the contractor to ask for, unless the work requires a lot of upfront costly materials (like roofing jobs);- Never finalize a bid until after you have all the information you need for the job.

If they, the hedge funds, or many overseas investors for some reason decide they want out, there’s little to say what would happen again to prices.We are not living within any kind of market driven organic price structure where homeowners and individual buyers determine price.

the loan will be in Tom's name (not his company name).Tom will order materials, arrange contractors, pay monthly mortgage/utility bills.Jim will provide the $15,000 in cash needed to rehab the property.Tom = $6,000 initial cash (plus) time = $6,000 cash outlayJim = $6,000 initial cash (plus) $15,000 rehab cash = $21,000 cash outlayQuestion #3 - how would the deed read?

You might want to checkout some of the better landlording books like "Landlording" by Leigh Robinson or Mr Landlord's materials.

Call a salvager in your area, they might take them down for less if there are materials they can resell as part of their profit.

Ben Kahle while there are some core ratios and formulas always used to determine if a property passes the bar, wouldn't your favourite formula(s) be driven by your objective for the property?

There have been a number of foreclosures and short sales on my street which has driven my immediate comps down, but I'm pretty sure I have the largest, or one of the three largest homes in our ~35 unit subdivision (built behind an older/established neighborhood).

Also on a Price Fister, there are brass fittings built into the shower assembly that can be changed once you take the stems out.