Otherwise, they are tempted to think that they've already paid the last month's rent and that they simply don't need to pay the rent the last month.I NEVER sign the lease with a tenant or allow them to have the keys until I have gotten both the rent AND the security deposit IN FULL AND IN CASH!

I was the winning bidder for a house from a reputable auction company (williams & williams).

There are hundreds to thousands of important posts, and to make them all sticky would simply overwhelm the forums.We're absolutely open to suggestions as to other ways to emphasize important topics.

I believe Joshua has the winning answer.

An appraiser is simply going to pull comps and walk the property.

I have seen too many people simply "wing it" only to get buried in IRS, legal, or other troubles that are much more costly and could have been avoided.

I am planning on developing a win-win business partnership to the banks' REO department in order to be able to close on a potential deal prior to it even hitting the market.

I concur Jeff.Spending money that you don't have is not a long term solution to anything but winning political races.That goes for Dems and Repubs.

On the other end, the contractors would love to be paid 100% up front.At either end, someone is taking all the risk with no reward up front and these are inherently win/lose scenarios.So, contractors want to get something up front for their labor and materials.

FLFlipper, what happens if your buyer doesn't show up at the double closing (heart attack, traffic accident, changed mind, simply late, etc., etc. ) do you have a backup plan?