After a year of managing the property, I know exactly how to manage a property in market and I know exactly what my operating expenses will be.Your first deal is where you will learn, so expect to take some calculated risk.

You should set your expectations that you will get rejected much more than accepted because of the seller's mindset that they will get what they want for the property.   

I'm in the process of completing renovations and upgrades, and by the time I'm finished I expect to have just over 20% equity in the property.

I think rents could be raised to $495 per unit, but that's not a huge value-add, and I'm concerned that with these being studios, expected higher turnovers would kill the deal.What would you use to calculate for vacancy rates in this situation?

Thanks, Stilll determining my rehab budget but I expect to be in the range of $195 to $215k.

What if the offer was $20K higher and all cash, it could behoove them to wait a few extra days to pick up the higher offer & they might expect the ED.Even if they release the deposit they might not have a ton of incentive to complete the contract since you didn't close in time. 

If it's undervalued then you could raise it to increase cash flow or keep it a little lower to let supply/demand work its magic and keep your expected vacancy lower.

the market is near the top, but great deals are still very plentiful...if you look in the right places..in 2011 we crushed it and I am sure a lot of people did...super cheap housesyou cant expect to find deals on MLS right now or auction.com....you need to be looking at tax deed sales and county foreclosure auctions.

Hi BrendaI'm looking for same :)  Question for the Forum followers ... what do you expect from an Investor Realtor and do you expect to pay fees if they close a deal for you as a "buyers agent" ?

(That would be similar to expecting the car dealership to refund all the money you'd paid for oil changes and tire rotations because you defaulted on the car loan)Again- you had a very negative experience with us, and we apologize.