Lately I did extensive reading (here on BP) about the whole deficency issue.It seems California, where I am located, is a state that doesn't allow for the mortgage companies to go after the home owners that go through foreclosure or short sales.

I am a fantastic antagonist (bad cop) and my wife iis always the good cop.... and it worked extremely well.To the question of justifying retention of security deposits... there are couple of steps that can help this process along and make the outcome almost bullet proof.The first part is... that everything is documented... and everythng has its picture taken.The process starts with a Move-in inspection conducted on the landlords form by the tenant... and in triplicate.The process starts to end with a Move-out inspection conducted by the landlord on their form in triplication.And of course with pictures taken in each instance preferably with the tenants smiling faces in the pics.The process continues by comparing the outcomes of the two inspections, figuring out how much it is going to cost to fix the damage that wasn't id'd in the Move-in inspection, but was discovered in the Move-out inspection and then deducting that amount from the security deposit and sending the remainder (assuming there is any) to the tenant.Best of luck!

He also predicted little chance of extension of the housing tax credit, saying that 1 out of 5 recent buyers purchased solely based on the credit.

Remember permits, regulations, practices, etc. differ when you work on commercial and by extension costs go up.

I also have a few clients that have contracted with a person locally that will conduct the work for a part time pay.

Make sure you like and want to conduct business with them.

You have to make sure that any Realtor you want to conduct business with, FULLY understands what you plan on doing.

The most expensive house I bought cost me $16,500 but it was also my most extensive rehab (Currently rented for $685) I paid $7,500 for the most recent one and spent $6,700 in rehab.

Do what you can to get an extension from the bank and work hard to solve the homeowners problem, even if you have to step out of the way without profit if there is not enough spread.

The other tenant wants expand their usage (restaurant) from 2500 to roughly 4500-5000sq ft, which would require some remodel (not sure what to do here).Taxes are $13k for '09Property built in '71 and had extensive remodel done in '99.Seller is willing to credit $16k for roof repair.Property has roughly .75-1 acre of empty lot space for future development.Where would you start in analyzing this deal, given that structurally the building is sound and sellers are willing to make repairs to roof?