But in my mind, it's sort of an "overflow" play from SF, Oakland, Berkeley, Walnut Creek, etc.

May expedite a profitable conversation.Most people will play with the idea of working probates (or some other niche) and will fail to follow through, follow up, or follow the leader.

If you find something wrong with the books and negotiate concessions before spending on inspections and other items then you at least know before dropping a ton of coin that the seller wants to play ball.No legal advice

Even if you buy an ideal property to begin with, things can happen that change the market, like school rezoning or a new neighborhood is built out front full of condos, etc., that makes the neighborhood less appealing.

Ideally, I would love to purchase one property before year's end.

Hey @Gregory GreenI just posted this on another thread, but it works here too.I'd say pre-foreclosures are just about played out.

During the presentation the numbers showed many young people were moving downtown to be close to work and the added retail and mixed-use properties allowed young people to live and play where they work.

You could plot a graph of $/SF and $/BR but at the end of the day there is no set formula because supply and demand plays a factor.In general…the 3rd BR will add value, but since the total square footage is the same, it won't capture ALL of the value and it depends on your market. ie. the 3rd BR would be a plus to families, college students, but a minus to childless working professionals.You could triangulate rent prices from different angles and find an average.

:) That would be the smart play ha!

@Eric - It would be ideal if I could get inspected and pass; however assuming the worst case scenario I'm guessing it has been renovated with minor code violations, which is why the listed price is slightly below the comps.