If at all possible, owner financing is your best bet; Just be sure to keep copies of your payments and expenses made in order to secure a conventional re-financing down the road.

Richin-sur-ance (in' shOo rəns), 1. n. a widespread legal form of gambling where the 'house' may raise antes in response to excessive pay outs and/or utilize several forms of double-speak and legal-eze to welch on the 'bet' altogether.

Do you think that is a safer way to go versus a cash-out refinance?

You bet it's regulated!

So it just goes in my trash.Face to face will always be the best bet.

He said all bets are off.

I'm betting it is vinyl - though the house is old enough there could be a linoleum layer under there somewhere.  

Assuming your home only needs basic spit and polish (paint, carpets, a quick landscaping job, etc)  I know some people on this site might bristle at the suggestion but your best bet might be to find a listing agent willing to spend some money up front on those things (to be paid back along with selling commission) in hopes of getting the  home to sell for substantially more.  

Funny thing...when I saw you are from Philly the song from Fresh Prince of Belair came into my head....bet your singing it now too!

It is MUCH more safer and while there is still some drug activities, it's been cleaned up and there are GREAT options for Cafes and Restaurants that you would feel comfortable and save which are upscale.Rents increased by more than double, but some of the expenses had significant increases.Today's NOI of $9,550 per month or $114,600 per year gives a cash flow of around $5,600 per month.The neighborhood Cap Rate also moved down dramatically as you would expect as the neighborhood gentrified, from 5.55% to around 4%.If we Capitalize the Value using the NOI and Cap Rate, we get around $2.865 Million, which is approximately similar to comparable properties.I have put together a very light spreadsheet so you can understand the numbers and highlighted the Cash Flow and Cap Rate so you can see it.I tagged both Joseph, Andrew and Matt because both had interest from the previous discussions."