Before the day was out I was talking to this owner.As I mentioned, he's juggling too many properties and these three represent a partial pruning of his tree, so to speak.

Some duplexes might get more in better areas but generally speaking a 4 unit will get more income. 

Good afternoon All,I have been speaking with this gentleman facing foreclosure for the last week.

But I see now that this is mostly because of the scummy or entitled attitude that often correlates with such "How do I get everything for nothing. 

The market is speaking to you about the property: It's on the Southside.  

No such thing, practically speaking, as "too late".

I would like to speak with a few lenders to get an idea on where I'm at, but my credit is good and I'll have a decent down payment.

This is before speaking to an architect.  

Hey There - very generally speaking, you need to present the vendor with a Sale Tax Exemption Certificate, and these are specific by the state you operate in.  

Like you as a mortgage underwriter, I have many years of experience being a professional supporting real estate investors as a CPA, but I now wanted to become a real estate investor myself.In late November of last year, like you're doing this November, I wrestled with the question of investing locally with a 4-unit purchased with FHA financing vs. investing out-of-state and got a lot of great advice.Like you, my goal is to retire within the next 10-15 years via real estate investing.As a result of some of the advice I've read through the forums (I would recommend you pay attention to guys who have been in real estate for decades like @Jay Hinrichs rather than the younger folks who are often just pushing their turnkey products) and speaking to investors at local real estate groups, I decided that given my place in life I would be wiser to place my bets on California appreciation over the next 20-30 years rather than investing in some beat-down property in Cleveland for an extra $400 or whatever in cash flow per month.Given the facts that (1) I could get into a property for a measly 3.5% down, which would free up cash to invest in other places if I so chose, (2) I was already throwing away rent every month such that I could still be cash flow negative of $650/month (what I was paying in rent) and still be better off because a portion of my monthly payment would be building my equity and the rest would be tax deductible, and (3) I'm in my 20s and have the time to take a long-term view of appreciation potential, it was a no-brainer to go the FHA 4-plex route in LA, despite the fact that it is one of the most expensive markets in the country.This isn't to say that the process was easy.