I am sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you but they keep on changing this site.  

As with any RE investment, you can buy something as is and make changes to improve income over time.

If your too scared to make the jump yet then keep educating yourself until you are.

When I leave Pensacola in two years, I plan to rent out both homes for the long-term.Looking forward to interacting with you all and continuing my real-estate education with this great network. 

Currently I am changing direction with the market and starting to do some new construction, creating notes, and still flipping a few properties.I am now wanting to meet and network with others that have the same drive and desire for getting the most out of life.  

I've been doing as much research as I can on locations and strategies, online and talking to real estate agents and friends (one of whom recommended this site which is awesome) I've gone through the BP online education and listened to a few podcasts.

I've been doing as much research as I can on locations and strategies, online and talking to real estate agents and friends (one of whom recommended this site which is awesome) I've gone through the BP online education and listened to a few podcasts.

The owners at the time did not alert me to the change in occupancy and I had to find out about this change on my own thru random inspections of my own.Going forward, with future deals where the units are occupied, what strategies should I utilize to help ensure that I'm not taken by surprise when tenants up and leave.  

You might learn some things from one that the other don't do/do differently, or see some pricing disparities in repairs, etc that would be educational.

I do agree that for all parties a fixed price estimate is best (you need to know how to estimate properly).To be successful as a GC, things like getting a large deposit, making sure you are always staying ahead on billing and are spending clients money and not your own, marking up all costs at least 20% to cover OH&P, billing appropriately for change orders, not to mention staying up to date on latest building methods and continuing education, are the minimum requirements to last in this business.Of course you have to keep construction costs as low as possible when you are rehabbing a real estate project.