Bankruptcies are a different matter, while they could qualify after 3 years, that is when the cause was not due to their financial failure, being unforeseen and unavoidable like a plant closing that puts the out of work or medical bills.

hi Attila - I'm also a newbie from Sacramento but you are way ahead of me in action.

Make a friend at a bank, they might give you a heads up as to what is about to be coming their way. :)

The cash flow may not be as great on paper in these better areas, but you'll come out ahead with less turnover, lower maintenance, and better appreciation.Happy Hunting!

Also what would be some key percentages to shoot for when investing in flipper homes, is there a secret formula that helps keep one out of trouble?

If it appears to be abandoned, go ahead with the make ready.

Being active in the community and listening to the podcasts is a wonderful way to build your knowledge base and puts you light years ahead of other novices.

Do I still go ahead and have them re-finished to make them look new or keep as is?

You should get a farm rental lease from your cooperative extension, that will cover issues like maintaining fertility, length of term (even if you evict from the house, they are going to get to continue to farm the land until any crop they plant is in), etc.

if it appreciates a lot in year one and you go below 80 LTV then go ahead an refinance to elim PMI