And THANK YOU for the very detailed analysis of the three options.

Agreed, but don't look at him as the final answer to whether a guru or mentor or what have you is a good guy or bad guy.

RE Agents do this all the time.Where better to find first hand information regarding changes to zoning, city sewage/water issues, large scale building permits, traffic counts and analysis then someone who regularly attends these meetings?

They said they could exclude medical bill debt (for low income tenants) in their analysis, if you chose to do that.

Here's the list of the one's I have...thought it may be easier this way:AddendumAffidavit and Memorandum of AgreementAgreement for DeedAssignment of ContractAttorney ApprovalBill of SaleClosing StatementDeposit NoteLetter of IntentQuit Claim DeedRE Purchase ContractRE Sales ContractBuyer’s Property Inspection ReportCash Flow AnalysisMarket Sales AnalysisProperty Analysis FormProperty Rehabilitation AnalysisSeller Information FormInstallment NoteMortgageMortgage Loan RecordPromissory NoteMonth to Month Rental AgreementPet AgreementRental ApplicationResidential Lease Rental AgreementResidential Lease with Option to PurchaseWaterbed AgreementBuyer ProfileWeekly PlannerWeekly Priority Schedule30 Day Notice to Terminate TenancyExpense Allocation SummaryExtension of LeaseLandlords Five Day NoticeMonthly Income RecordMove In Move Out FormNotice of Overdue RentPermission to SubletTenants mandatory Notice of Intention to VacateLet me know if I can shoot any of these out to anyone, and please, always remember to check them with your local laws!!

If you have kept to your end of the deal you should be fine...you may even have a case to retain your earnest money.Additoinally, check with the county and see if you can't drum up a final Bills Paid Affidavit that states that the contractor has been paid in full for the work done....The other problem you will encounter, is that while you may not find any paper on your lot specifically, some counties, halt the deed transfer over the entire original abstract even before it is broken out to the buyer...so you may be looking at the wrong ownership table.Hint: contractors for subdivisions are too lazy to file leins over each individual lot, so therefore they tag the entire boundary.

Finally, you do not want anyone living there who is not on the lease with you and fully responsible for any damage they may do to the property.Good Luck!

If it helps, we live in NC. 3) For the last 3 months we have been looking at different homes in our area and are ready to finally make the step to purchase.

But I take your point.I'm guessing that the townhome qualifies for the "2 out of 5 year" rule for preferential tax treatment which is one more reason to sell it now.I don't like being a long distance landlord, I sold all of my rentals before I moved 200 miles, so I wouldn't keep it unless you KNOW you might move back and re-occupy it.Your math analysis is correct.

I see a ton of these in the MLS that advertise "Great cash flow" or :cash cow", but when I run a really quick analysis (mortgage payment, closing costs, 30% for expenses and vacancy, and taxes) I get either no cash flow, minimal cash flow, or a loss..