Plus I can look at houses whenever I want and save a couple thousand on commission.

@Mark DeLorenzo I agree with @Chris Mason that ultimately it depends on the appraisal and that can’t be known until you actually pay for the appraisal. 

Lastly I'd recommend you check out The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods for some more information on the Cleveland market.

It saves the expense of ever getting a subpoena requesting that we provide all email related to a certain item; if you do not have it, you cannot provide it.I suspect your response contains simple facts and conveys no opinions. 

I haven't seen the house in about 2 years so it's not like I'm running down there dealing with stuff myself but ultimately I don't have it under true "property management"I owe about 29K on the mortgage and about 13K on a HELOC that I used to purchase another property a year and a half ago. 

So i this have plan out as.They are asking $39,000 I would offer $35,000 in cash from a refinance from my current home and $10,000 in  savings for rehab.I have not seen the inside of this house yet , i am having a realtor check it out today, so I will know more this afternoon.Then do a purchases option of $3,000 down and $800 a month for 2 years  and purchase price of $70,000.This is having the the lessee pay for all repairs up to $500. 

True, I'd avoided bad consumer debt, worked on my 401K, and did some saving, but I never started building a snowball toward wealth and freedom from a cubicle.

I'm considering finding homes that just have swamp coolers and putting in small duct air systems for their energy savings and ability to help them compete with newer builds. 

If you choose to work directly with the seller, that is your choice but then you might not be able to get help from a realtor.Some relators might do a CMA for a flat fee or to provide you what you need, but that does not prevent them in any case to show the property to their clients..If you want to do this on your own, that is fine, but then you need to do this on your own.If you are starting in real estate, you might be better of working with a local relator, it might save you money and issues down the road.

I would save my money for a down payment for a home or investment property.Below is link I posted about sacrifice for down payment.https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/511...Terrence