Turns out they knew how to read. not pre screening with questions before showingsrepairing Mechanicals way longer than I should.

Mechanic's Liens can absolutely be placed on a property with seeing a judge.

I come from a family of carpenters and mechanics so I'm familiar with tools and manual labor.

The GC and every subcontractor can file mechanics Lien - - don't let that happen!  

Beware of IRS and mechanics' liens which also stay with the property regardless of owner.

Maybe the mechanicals are in great shape?

You could still make money on a deal, but you won't make as much as if you've seen 25 homes and know what all values and repair looks like in the market.Also, one more thing I think that is a big failure mechanism for new investors is ego.

The two major pieces of any permanent policy, the savings mechanism and the mortality costs, were simply broken out and explicitly shown.

Hey, I think you're spot on as long as you're buying the property using the 50% rule, since you never know when circumstances might change, or your empire grows to the point where you NEED property management.I've found that the following warrant a 55% rule:* older pre-1950 houses* mechanicals and deprciating structures more than 50% through their useful life* low rents (less than $500/mth around here) since fixed costs will be higher as a % of rent* multis where landlord pays water/sewer, common area costs* turnover higher than nat'l avg of once every two years, driving up cleaning and make-ready expenses, and extra marketing/leasing time, even if it is your own time at this point.Happy Thanksgiving.

You can do a dealership or private seller (personally I like private seller, dealerships are just as shady as anyone else and private is cheaper). if its private meet the seller at your favorite mechanic and have an inspection done immediately, then take it for a test drive and based on what the mechanic found, negotiate the price.