Plumber finished top out yesterday and now it's ready.

Heck, around here, 10 years old should be interpreted to mean "the HVAC has a little more but not much more time," and "get ready to buy a new water heater."

hey guys,I am getting ready to do a double closing on a SF home that will be a cash deal for both parties involved.I had a lady contact me to find her a specific property she wanted at a specific price so I went out and located one that fit her requirements.

Hi Blake, I'm right next door in Lantana and we'll be moving to Boynton as soon as our house is ready.

Often REO listing agents are simply too busy to answer their phone or respond to email and if they do they may simply refer you to another agent to make the offer.Once you have some experience under your belt you may be able to get on an REO Broker's call list and you can hear about and be ready to make offers before some listings even hit the market.I hope that helps.

Onto the point...On each end of the spectrum you have "newbs" who jump into REI with no regard for the risks and without nearly enough education, just waiting to get burned...then you have those (like myself) who have spent years reading and learning but can't seem to take the leap, for fear of getting burned...HOW do you know when you're ready to get started?

I have a similar situation - I am getting my primary house ready to rent. 

:) Of course I had to switch lenders because the one I was working with didn't do Homepath loans but it wasn't that big a deal since I already had my documentation ready.

Yes it does, because most short sales have a lot of work to be done on them and in my price range to be considered move in ready and most are sold as "as is".

We actually pay the owner directly and he has a contract with a PM company to make sure the rental is ready for each guest and is available for when problems arise.