They did work to the house without my consent, and blamed it on email not getting to me so they assumed it was OK (needless to say words were exchanged, they paid half).I am more on the Laissez-faire style of management when it comes to my management skills being at work or in business.

My experience with contractors start with in writing and pay only 1/3 up front, 1/3 better than half of the work done, last payment when they finish with no returns necessary after inspection to fix something they missed or messed up.

If it's not too much you could explain to him you never heard anything about nor received the last month's rent, but offer to pay him half of it back (or even the full amount if you want).I've offered this to tenants in similar situations and they usually will agree and are happy to get something back. 

At this point I feel I have the knowledge and capital required to start my investment career but after 6 months of looking at property I have yet to make a purchase.My better half thinks I have analysis paralysis but I think I just haven’t found a great deal yet.

it was built in 1926 and it value right now is 76000, and the utilities would be payed by the tenant, but it needs a lot of work, I would do all the work my self and just buy materials, and my guesse is that once it's been remodel the value would go up to at least 100000 because it's about half of mile away from a university cumpus

I live right next to the beach its just 3 miles away.

Boise is less that 30 miles to the Oregon state line as the crow flies and has some pretty exciting investment opportunities. 

Hello Miles,We aren't local to you but we work on short sales in California and they are a great investment out here!

@Cory BorenI agree that there is opportunity out there, but when I search craigslist for my rental niche (4-5 bedroom homes, safe neighborhoods) I see close to 2,000 listings (almost half by the same rental company).  

The city has announced a massive redevelopment project (replacing abandoned warehouse buildings with a strip of retail and restaurant spaces) about half a mile away.Obviously this will take some time to build, which is why holding for 2-3 years seems like the best decision.