Utilities now range into the $450-500 range, I communicated solely via email, my lease agreement has them locked in for 1 year and they still have 8 months to go but I evicted them.

Since my ultimate goal is to acquire the property it seems that buying the note & foreclosing is a sound strategy in that I would then have the leverage to effectively lock other potential bidders out since no one in their right mind would bid up to the value of the note, which is more than twice what the property is currently worth.I like the idea of quietly taking possession of the property via a deed-in-lieu but that would likely be difficult as the original owner is purposefully in absentia.

BTW - check the doors and windows - people leaving in a hurry don't always remember to lock them all.

While I don't hold many rentals, I personally want to see a cash-on-cash return of at least 15%, with 20% being possible, and also some expectation of price appreciation over the next couple years (for example, homes in a recent freak flooding area that are selling under market due to retail buyer concerns that will likely fade in another year or two).That said, I'm sure those who have a lot more rentals than I do will chime in, and they probably have different ROI goals.As for the San Francisco property you mentioned, a couple things:- Prices and cap rates in the Bay Area are tremendously skewed for various reasons -- small land-locked area, great climate, world technology center, very high average income, etc.

Install....Section 8 might actually require that bedroom to have a door, and it might even have to have a lock ...

At the beginning of a project, my project manager shoots me an email with all the finishing materials; it might look like this:- 1 Exterior Door (36" RH)- 5 Interior Doors (32" LH)- 2 Flush Mount Fan/Lights- 1 Large Fan/Light w/Downrod- 2 Basic Fan/Lights- 8 Privacy Locks, 7 Passage Locks- 4 Bathroom Sinks (19"), 1 Kitchen Sink- 4 Bath Faucets, 1 Kitchen Faucet- Set of Appliances (w/Gas Range)- Etc...I'll bring up my spreadsheet, put a quantity next to each item, fax it to my guy at HD straight from my computer, and he'll generally call me the next day with a bid price generally about 14-16% off retail).

And why do they find it prudent to charge $150 for a cheap set of used locks?

With the 30 year, I have a very low interest rate locked in for a long time if I want it, but I also have the option of paying extra and retiring the loan earlier.

Also how did you lock up the property and did you use your own cash to do so or some type of transactional funding?

Since you don't have a buyers list yet, focus on getting deals locked up and then leverage other wholesalers buyers list.