I don't want to criticize anyone's hometown but your best option may be to get out of Williamsport. 30% ownership rate sounds like it may be 1/2 the national average, which implies (at least to me) that the economic conditions may not be great there.My best bet is to accumulate some cash, even if you get the ppty with little or no out of pocket (which is not as likely or easy in real life as shown on late nite informercials), it still takes cash to repair and operate ppty.Good luckall cash

since you're estimating costs, ball park numbers are usually fine and this is what i would suggest doing to estimate repairs.if you're trying to do a detailed project analysis, you'll probably want the contractors to come see the property but you probably won't make any friends if you don't infact own the property yet because theres a good chance you are wasting their time considering how easy it is to lose a property to someone else before its in contract.

Can you make good enough money on cash flow to justify the deal or is this something you can justify little or no cash flow on because it has such great appreciation and you can move it quickly in another year or two for some easy money?

As for using a corporation to buy/own real estate, they are easy to set up and can certainly be used to buy property.

Is this basically a no-go for most rehabbers or is it something that you would consider if the price is right? I don't know the extent of the mold yet, but has anyone here had to deal with removal of mold, and if so ...

It was also an easy read.

Not as easy...people are keeping $$$ close to the vest.

Josh,A bit of a tangent but in the spirit of networking like you encourage.When someone is new and they list a location in the subject they are easy to find.How does a new person (or someone who is not new to BP) search for people in a specific location?

It is easy to get a range price without seeing the property.

In the interest of fair play, here are a couple of companies that offer online rent collection services, one of which is mine, but you should pick the one that best fits your goals: ClearNow -- just electronic checks, but simple and easy to set up RentingYourHome.com -- electronic checks, AMEX, VISA, MC, PayPal, has more features Payment Services Network (PSN) -- excellent product, but complex for a small landlord to set up; must be underwritten during process PayRent -- electronic check, AMEX, VISA, MC, PaypalIt's better for you the landlord to accept credit cards b/c you never deal with default (VISA chases bounced checks, not you), and they fund faster than checks.