They'll be listed on the MLS like any other house.Fannie Mae homes will be listed on the MLS but bids go through their website Homepath.comHUD will also list their homes on the MLS, but bids go through their website Hudhomestore.comTo purchase any of these, you go through an agent on Realtor.com or Zillow.com like any other house.HUD and Fannie Mae will often require an initial bidding period for owner occupants only and then open up bidding for investors.In some parts of the country, Fannie Mae homes tend to be occupied when you buy them.

Properties tend to go at or slightly above asking price.The area you will be living in will be mostly, but not entirely, multi-families and a good proportion of the population there will be renters.

yes, but I tend to add an extra 10 to 15% for cost overuns to estimated repairs. 

Glendale/Peoria and parts in the east valley Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert are closer to making a good cash flow but these tend to be in rougher neighborhoods or are in need of significant rehab.I’ve also narrowed my scope to small multi family properties, I could start looking at more single family homes.Again thank you for the time, any advice is extremely helpful.

Hi Andrea,Just wanted to chime in quickly with my 0.02 Australian cents.You have received some great advice from the prior folks that commented and here is mine :)We have done so many deals in Toledo that I stopped counting at 500 lolOne thing that we have not yet figured out is "contractors".We have lost millions to these folks and experience has lead me to believe that it's just the "cost of doing business" in this market.So many just like you have tried to do flip from afar and have done so very unsuccessfully (Many come crying back to us and begging for help).The others tend to have delay after delay with big over-budget costs just to complete the job so it would have been better paying full asking price for an already renovated property.I know of only a few investors doing it well and even they still have someone on the ground that is pinching pennies from them (No where near to the degree of what some contractors do so I guess you could call it a "win/win")Spend more time conducting due diligence on building a team you can trust rather than focusing on the various areas/zip codes.Visit the market multiple times and "shake hands/kiss babies" by meeting with as many people as you can.You need a real estate agent, property manager, contractors, maintenance person, attorney, accountant, title company and mentor just to name a few.Nothing comes quick and easy in life and neither does investing in real estate successfully.Finding the above folks could take you years but don't rush because there is nothing to miss out on in my opinion.The Midwest (Especially Toledo) tends to be a boring and slow moving market.Thanks and I hope my comment helped.I wish you much success

My initial reaction upon seeing the valuation was similar, but when you boil down the numbers, in most cases, it tends to be less of a dramatic jump as you initially think.

Secondly MF homes around here tend to be built around the 1900 and look like they haven't been updated in 50 years.

Carefully-tended ivy on masonry buildings isn't as much of a problem, but on brick veneer properties, yes, allowing it to get a foothold and spread is a real problem.

The plan called for one of us quitting our day job to tend to the business full time. 

Do you find that most with low scores tend to be more risk than they're worth?