Considering the massive imbalance between listings and pendings, it's safe to say that we are experiencing an inventory reduction.

Life is good.So, you don't need to do anything unless you hear that you are going to be "riffed" (reduction in force) by your employer.

Need to know the real N.O.I.Always us a study period - take your time - understand why seller is selling to you - has it been on the market, for how long any offers any price reduction, what are the comments on the listing, whats wrong with the property?

Considering i can get my money back in less than 3 years < with all the added appreciation and reduction of principal> i think my ROI is at par.This time is too good to pass when you get a property at half the replacement cost..

He got around to telling us as a by the by recently wanted a significant rent reduction to renew (we said no thanks as it is already rented below market value on zillow), then he comes back and want to rent for another year at same price.

This strategy may work for you because a) the reduction of monthly debt service on your current home may allow you to rent out your current home for a decent cash flow b) the low down-payment requirement (3.5% last I looked) on FHA loans would allow you to tap only the cash you have on hand and purchase a new property.Pros: Most efficient use of available liquid capital (from the brief snapshot you have given me)Equity in current residence could later be tapped to help you remodel and build equity in second purchaseCurrent residence may cash flow well once rented (not enough data to verify)Cons: Require you to moveHave to pay refinance closing costsThere will be time that you are paying both mortgages while you are looking for a suitable renter, but if you plan this for PCS season for the large number of military installations in the area your risk here is greatly reduced.Please remember to take this with a grain of salt, I do not have all of the details of your situation and you should talk with your spouse and lenders to ensure that this works in your situation before executing this strategy.I hope all goes well for you,Allen Fletcher

However, it could be pulled off for a price reduction evaluation or damage/vandalism evalCheck the address on Realtor.com to see if it is pending or call the agent. 

You might be able to review some of the fees charged by your broker and lender to see about a reduction.

The tenant might keep the run down space as a bargaining chip for the landlord to do major TI upon the option or a rent rate reduction.

Wouldn't you love to find this list and give them the red pill out of the Matrix and show them there are markets that exist where you do not have to pay over market value!