This property is out of my normal farm because it came from a referral (friend of a friend sort of thing).In doing my research, I found a couple properties within a block that are owned my LLC's.  

Rognel Heights is nothing like Sandtown/Winchester, it's actually a pretty nice neighborhood, although there are good and less-good blocks (typical in Baltimore).

I know a guy on the block, he knows the house, he said its in good shape inside.

Sometimes just a couple blocks can make a big difference.If you don't want to take care of a property that is further away, just factor in the cost of property management (usually between 7% and 12%) when running your numbers.

My feeling is that if a particular base is about to go on the chopping block, you will likely be hearing rumors for some time beforehand and if you are paying attention, you should be able to sell in advance of closure.  

Options so far are concrete block or wood frame (the traditional choices) or SIPS.

just closed on #18 rental today. it's located in westland, michigan.this one was very weird and almost didn't happen at all. it had 5-6 stumbling blocks, but my experience helped. not giving up and trying something new also helped.it came up on the MSL about a month ago. it said "great investment oppt, tenant wants to stay and rent for $700 per month". i tried to get in touch with the listing agent (turns out broker). he texted, but did not answer. next day he told his agent to work with me. made an appt to see it, then agent called back 3 mins later and says "tenant is sick, house is off the market". so i gave up, but kept thinking about it. 2 days later i was browsing the Broker's site and noticed that one of his agents is the wife of a coworker. so i immediately got in touch with her and we were able to see the house the next day.turns out it's a 4 bedroom (legal basement room) in a 3 bedrooms area of westland. rents in that are can go up to 1,050. this house was super nice, not clean, but great yard, great garage, great brick.started talking to the homeowner and turns out their redemption period is over TOMORROW (4/30) and they will be on the street. they wanted cash sale, listed for $49.9k. the caviat is that they can pay up to $800 per month in rent. so that's at least $250 less than what i could get if they were not there.so, i knew i wanted the house. i didn't care about the low rent... so, i went home, did the numbers and offered this:month to month contract for 2 yrs, i can kick them out if they are not paying and get the house.rent will be $735they can cancel their homeowners insurancethey can cancel appliance protection planwill revisit the rent in 2 yrsoffer is $51.5k cashthe problem was the line of credit had only 33k. talked to my bank and we were going to bundle the last 2, include this one and just buy this one. i thought it was a cash deal, the bank thought they were financing it in a loan.a day before closing i called to confirm that everything is ok, and they said "no, we have not heard back from the title". i was livid.luckily i had 20k in another account, but it was out of state. so i had to transfer to local bank. this morning at 6am the 20k showed up. closing was at 12pm. i did 2 wires from 2 different banks and good thing i had the 20k cash.they almost lost the house and i almost lost the deal. if the 20k didn't show up, i would have used my credit cards to pull cash out this morning.1 hr before closing, i realized that the 1st of may is in 2 days and i told the agent "want may's rent and 1.5x for deposit" I was so stressed out i had forgotten to ask for that... she said "too late for that, get it later". i said "i am not closing then". we talked to the title and they said "they are getting ~$2300 back, we can just give you the check and they can sign it".phew!

I have cold cash can close quickly using my escrow company, off market, wholesale, bird dog, reo tapes I have a big appetite and any color. 

@Jeremy Pace - There are 3 homes on the block currently for sale.

There are around 10 duplexes for sale by the same owner in a couple block radius all for around the same price.