However, she doesn't lose anything by having the capability of selling houses should the opportunity arise.  

They have agreed to pay half the rent the first 2 months and pay an additional 50$ / month for the other 10 months to make up for my lose.  

Either he didn't vet the contractor well enough or he didn't manage the contractor well enough -- and many rehabbers don't like to admit it was their screw up that resulted in losing money.

The closing agent will give HUD your deposit, because they don't want to lose their ability to close HUD transactions.

But at least this way you run much less of a risk of losing the tenant until you are ready for turnover.

The ******* who lived in the house before me decided his DIY work would include smearing excess mortar everywhere SMH!

In the 2008 real estate pullback did the vacancy rate increase significantly from previous years because people were losing their jobs, or did more people begin to rent because they were losing their home ? 

All I'm saying is that based on speaking with those attorneys, these types of JV deals are best done with friends/family who aren't likely to sue you if something goes wrong and you lose money in the deal.

The question is, can you afford to lose the condo.

If the market goes sideways and then down, you'll lose a lot more than a tax write-off for $28,000 in commissions.