As far as flipping strategies buy right and then also price correctly when you sell.As a real estate broker new product doesn't come on the market every 30 days it comes on the market every week and sometimes daily.Knowing that what buyers want is the best product at the most reasonable price.They don't want a crap hole to live in just because it is cheap.So when rehabbing if your budget is stretched pick 2 or 3 things that will pop and catch the buyers eye that say QUALITY.Also in this market a price drop every 30 days won't cut it.As a broker we know from statistical data that 85 percent of activity occurs in the first 10-14 days on the market.If recent sold prices range from 40k to 50k I want to be in the bottom 50% of list price 40k to 44k with a great product.If I have given it maximum exposure and nothing comes in drop the price every 7 days until it sells.You want to always stay ahead of the pricing curve and chasing the market down.It is the number one mistake made by all sellers.

Oh crap, I just gae them another idea of how to raise our taxes . . .

I don't get a bunch of crap on my real addresses and if the load of crap gets to be to much on free e-mail I can kill it off.

So are the banks starting to adjust or are people combining non-traditional and traditional financing for their Projects???

The Chicago Metropolitan area (surround suburbs etc) actually has a larger population than the city itself when combined.

Combine high gas prices and much tighter money, and I would expect demand for those big, expensive cars to see more of a hit than smaller, cheaper cars.

My thoughts were, holy crap what am I gonna do now.

I would agree with the above comments that this looks like an interesting opportunity, but not a great deal at any price over $100k for both combined.

I crapped in my pants. 

If you don't have access to a realtor that will give you free comps (if you're going to sell the house, offer to sell through them), then go with a combination of the Zillow, Trulia, County Tax assessments, and then go down 5% to be extra cautious.ARV is not really "calculated," it's more 'researched' best on surrounding sales.Excited to see the before/after pics of your rental!