While they were all great to live in at the time, none of them have been high-performing investment properties.

I called FCI and was told that even though we have retained a trustee attny, I need to now hire a mediation attny to perform the mediation with borrower and/or their attny. 

I brought up the fact that our old apartment is still vacant and perhaps we could perform a walk through to see exactly what the paint and trim charge was for.

Pros:Fewer days on the market (aka reduce vacancy) from additional marketing time and lining up the tenant before the existing tenant has vacatedStaged homes rent better than one w/o furniture (although rare the tenant has good enough style :))Ability to perform an informal "move-out" inspection, which provides a better idea of the turnaround time before the new tenants can move-inTenants may tidy up the place a bit and get a head start on their move-out process (rare, but worth pointing out)Cons:Reduced rent --> assuming some of the above bullet points are a stretch from reality (aka staged home and tidy up the place), the clutter and style may detract tenants from wanting to move-inInconvenience to the existing tenantsCoordination of the showings requires contacting the existing tenantsI know many SFH will list the property while other tenants are in it, but you must take it on a case-by-case basis, and it's heavily dependent on the existing tenants.

I know they go MLS to get best price, I have no idea if there are pitfalls or what not, new to investing but 12 years in government construction as self performing contractor.

In reality, it's 3 days of marketing designed to hook you into one of the "training" packages they will hit you with the third day ranging from $4,997 all the way up to $24,997.The spell will be broken when you have maxed out your credit cards and exhausted your savings without ever learning enough to do one deal.Don't get me wrong.  

Of course you would need to perform your due diligence and ensure the numbers will work in your favor.

"I know and trust the companies".On another note, with metal duct, what gauge of metal have they included; are they using long turn fittings with turning vanes; are they using tape, mastic or Aeroseal on the joints; what is the R-value of the insulation (on metal or the flex); have they performed a Manual J and Manual D; have they included dedicated returns to each room or just one central one?

Third, TARP has nothing to do with foreclosure sales.

If you need a CMA form perform a search on Google  'CMA.pdf'  Good luck and welcome to Real Estate-Ron