Part of this comes from simply maintaining your property to inhabitable standards, which is more than what a lot of absentee landlords can offer.

The envelope size I need is Standard #10 Business Envelope.I tried Staples and USPS self-sealing envelopes, but the adhesive doesn't close the envelope lid completely and I am forced to put two small pieces of tape on the back-side.

we agreed on a price including our estimate of what we would need to fix the house to the fha 203k standards.

Very heavy on fair housing (make sure you know what year certain things became a protected class) and ethical standards

But if HE sold through a realtor, he would be forced to upgrade to a much higher standard than if I moved in, AND he has one hell of a commission fee to pay on top of that.

I wonder if the snow removal standard established by the municipality the property is in could serve as a reasonable standard.

[Disclaimer: I worked for 14 years as the Accessibility Services Manager for a major medical center, in charge of purchasing all of the language and cultural support services for the hospital and clinics, as well as accommodations for people with disabilities.

I talked to a MD agent who told me if I wanted to get my offer taken seriously, that I should use the standard NAR contract and not one of the "funny" investor contracts or else the seller's agent would probably just throw it out.

Scenario:Investor purchases building in North Miami in fairly dilapidated state.3200 sq ft block construction with no doors, windows, electrical, drywall etcAt time of closing investor is informed an additional $5000 is payable to Miami City as a 'bond' and the property must be fixed up within one year.Repair quotes for property vary from $110,000-$180,000.Investor flies in contractor from interstate who rehabs entire property with everything meeting code standards, for total cost of $35,000.

Great debate on such an interseting topic.ARV should be the estimated market value less costs of repairs and improvements (according to the plans and specifications assuming workman like standards being met) to arrive at the current value before work.