Kitchen has white laminate in okay condition, kitchen and bathrooms have wallpaper in bad condition, one bathroom has slightly rusted light fixtures, the grey wall paint is either gloomy or chic (you choose), backyard has patches from the dog, master bedroom has a weird wood inset, garage has a big dent in the dry wall where someone's car hit it, Where would you invest to make it feel more clean and modern?

You might want to try local credit unions who can be more flexible, or try getting a HELOC on that property, and try commercial banks (they can loan on sub $50k but will usually require you to pool a few properties together so that the total loan is above their min of $250k

Cash flow is great (if rented).Here's the thing, when I asked PM about tenant pool, he said it's pretty poor, meaning it will be hard to find many qualified candidates in that area.

And, although during the downturn jobs here got hit, they were not merely hit as bad as some of the other areas in the country.I really like the Placer County area and think the barriers to entry for the Sacramento market tend to be a lot easier than Palo Alto.The trick to any investing where you are not personally going to manage (and if you are going to personally manage you need to remember that your management may be more of a road block than hiring out the management) is trust and checking in.The reason almost everyone always recommends investing in your back yard is that you know that area like the back of your hand.

We use to pay all water and had a tenant go get one of those cheap frame pools that are 12' or 14' around.  

SFH 3bed 1.5 bath. .4 acre, fenced in back yard. i have one person paying rent. i hope to be looking for my second house this time next year (jan 2017) is there any educational information someone knows right off hand that could point me in the direction of how the options for purchasing the second home. 

My properties are located within Broken Arrow, so I can personally attest to the demand and large pool of quality tenants. 

I'd also bring the money for half the deal if you want to partner on some flips with good margins and will do most of the work.I live in Smyrna so the West End is my back yard. 

I am having a harder time finding a cash flow deal in my backyard. 

I'm also interested in multi-family, but have not dipped into that pool yet.I've been assessing my investments, and I feel I need to turn up my real estate investing.