But, personally I wouldn't start the renovation until I'd had done a background check on the person who lost the property, to see if they have other assets they could sell to redeem the property or relatives who might help them out. 

Its the only property I own. outside of my current residence that I currently have around $100k in equity.I was wondering how hard it is to leverage it into a $400k deal and that is the max I'd like to leverage to.

I’d take a solid look at the market you want to invest in and start figuring out rents and determine how much more cash flow you can generate if you sell the duplex and buy a replacement property.

That gave me a bit more comfort because I wasn't sure if I'd have to fork out for an attorney before I could bid and I was wary of potentially bidding, not winning anything, and then being out of pocket for legal fees.Feel free to PM me if you want more attorney details.

If I will refinance before the 5 year fixed period expires, without any penalties, I'm having a hard time understanding why I'd want to go forward with a fixed rate currently.

At this point,  I'd rather just rent it and try selling in a few years, but we can't get any interest as a rental either.

If I needed this property to turn a healthy profit I'd be dying right now!

If the answer to the above question is yes, then I'd have $350k to use in the exchange.

I'd take 1-2 really good houses over 4-6 **** houses.

Hi Jason, I'd highly recommend checking with the sellers to find out if the condo is warrantable or non-warrantable.