.*  The property must be habitable...and, you most likely will not get the max (you knew that), and probably a lot less than you bargained for.Other options:1 - Short term partner or short term bridge loan. 

You seem like you have great financial habits already and have made good investment decisions so far.

Ours happens to be "getting in front of motivated sellers" ... so with the changes in the business, we are protecting that vital role more now, and will continue to make sure that keeping that role thriving is the #1 priority.   

I know investors that think high end tenants, high end rentals, and low cap are a good deal, I know investors that think the least money down and high ROR is a good deal, I know investors that think a high cap rate is a good deal, I even know investors that think barely habitable properties with lots of "potential" is a good deal.

@Viney Khera Usually your only obligation is to pro-rate the rent and not charge for the period of time the home isn’t habitable and the tenant can’t live there.

There's BIG money to be made on the real estate sales side you just have to develop the habits of Top Agents (lead generation, lead follow-up, communication, presenting, negotiating, closing.. just to name a few.)

Obviously I do not know the area/house or market but if 20K gets it to where it is habitable and can qualify my gut says you would make much more than that over what you would make from a flipper.Just my 2 cents and good luck!

I've attached a Powerpoint file (it's short; two slides) to touch on two important ideas: 1) Your energy usage in Aug 2016 reflects different energy use habits, and is not directly comparable to our energy usage; this is borne out by comparison of Aug 2016 and Aug 2017 temp & energy use data. 2) My move-in in mid-August did not introduce a significant change in energy use patterns compared to what Kelly had already established on her own in that time (unsurprising given that we use all the same appliances and utilities); this is borne out by comparison of Aug 2017 and Sept 2017 temp & energy use data.

You just got started :)What Jon Lee mentioned is vital.

We just painted 2 rooms and reglazed the bathtub, which was desperately needed, for an inherited tenant and they were very happy and no longer cared about the rent increase.Also I recommend getting in the habit of saying “we” even if it’s just you making the decisions.