It seems like they're confirming that the market is hot, which tells me to just sit tight and be patient. 

Be careful about buying a fixer upper in our market, the discount doesn't always match the work that needs to be done, and if things are already tight - you don't want to be putting all of your time and money into home improvements. 

This is a tight line to walk because you don't want to shoot yourself in the foot.  

You have specific deadlines to meet and specific wording to follow when making claims against deposits. 

Granted that you are building equity in the property with each principal payment, but you can't buy a cup of joe at Starbucks with "equity" unless you sell or borrow.The last couple of years of loan payments before you pay off the loan entirely are cash tight because of taxes.

What he did complete was great & I still can't believe the guy walked away, but not paying your off-the-book guys hurts.The contract was tight & every aspect of the job & draw ran through our attorney's para-legal & she's a bull dog (also an investor). 

It's easy to get desperate looking for a deal with a deadline in mind and we tend to risk forcing a deal that turns out bad.

Most human beings find a way to procrastinate whenever there's a deadline involved 

I went to a time management class to help manage time and deadlines to hopefully reduce stress for me and my staff. 

I would negotiate the interest rate to the point where you make at least 200 per month which is still a pretty tight margin.