Also it makes a difference is the house is outdated.If it is functional but outdated it will become an expense for the buyer down the road with upgrading to sell to the next buyer.For instance if a home is 1 to 2 years old and you buy you can get away with owning a few years and reselling without pouring a bunch of money into it.If you buy a house that is say 5 to 10 years old and resell in a few years you will most likely have to spend substantial money updating for resale.On the bpo's now they actually make the 3rd party bpo broker/agent (who does not have the listing)sign an electronic from when submitting the report that they have not been influenced nor have they had discussions with any parties relating to the value of the property.The buyers broker,buyer,listing broker,and seller all have an interest to see the sale happen.The BPO person getting paid for a report is just an objective 3rd party.You want to make sure and not overpay for a property.For instance you put in an offer and wait 2 months for acceptance.Meanwhile the market has declined 6% since then and your deal is no longer that great.It's critical to know with a short sale how many mortgages and liens are present.The more to negotiate the more of a long shot of getting approval from all parties and hitting the value needed.

I imagine that looking at "yield" is a good place to start, I just don't know where to find "yield" numbers for different areas, aside from calculating it myself.

Furthermore, if I pay that much for a vehicld, imagine how much I am willing to pay my attorney to protect my business :)"

Plug in any rate that you can imagine as your default rate and...you get the idea.That being said, I used plastic when I started.

Imagine that.

I can't imagine a landlord doing that unless tenant also yelled.

Thanks everyone for your input.Without giving the story away (it's for the BP Blog) the landlord does "this thing" take changes her complex into a mix-use building that's produces enough auxiliary income to cover mortgage and holding expenses.Tenant rents are sheer profit (fictional story OK).Gene Rodenberry stretched our imaginations with Star Trek.

I can't imagine them letting someone stay in a shed.What about the vicious guard dog that you leave in the yard at night?

and left a mess you cannot imagine.

I might imagine that even if it is, you'd be discouraging potential tenants.Arnie