Does anyone know what are some concerns that I should take into consideration before making an offer on a property that has been, according to the agent, vacant for many years?

HOWDY YALLGarGus it sounds like the Austin area is making a good comeback or at least the start of one.I remember when I took my ABR over there everyone was dealing with contract wars and then the high tech crash came.BCS is still riding the wave and building is going on everywhere.Especially in the commercial arena.Land has gone up steadily which has escalated prices but this area is still undervalued compared to most of the places folks are coming from.It is common to see people buying with a good chunk left over from their out of state sales proceeds.Investors in rental properties are not as happy as they once were as the escalated prices are making it hard to get a good return without putting more in.The junker market has alot of inventory for those that rehab.Some Ive seen as low as 22000.The lots are usually good size.(10000 sq ft and bigger).Locations most of the time are iffy.High end rehabs are coming into the picture more now.Wealthy College kids live in and trash expensive homes that their folks buy and then wind up selling them cheap to cut their losses.Ilove this country.Well im off to NYC for 2 weeks of R&R with the family.Hope yall write a bunch of clean deals while I'm gone.Adios.Jennysh thanks for the website on your condo hotel its a beauty!

The main concern that lenders have is that the property will again end up in default.

I've spoken to three people I have met through this site that have been "back-doored" by some people and one of the newbies I met from here, caused me to be cut out of my own deal because of inexperience, lack of knowledge, and their inability to say so.

ROI without appreciation: -24.11%Cash on cash: -8.20%I know Zillow.com is not an accurate barometer, but it has the property valued at ~$160,000, and comps put it in the $150K range on a per square foot basis.This seems like a good deal to me because of the discounted purchase price, but the negative numbers in the analysis concern me very much.Advice, thoughts, concerns???

Most people aren't cut out to be an entrepenuer, that is why most people in this country are employed by others.

However, if the market changes and you can suddenly rent this same property for $900/month, there is no reason to expect that expenses would suddenly become $450/month on average over the long run (unless, perhaps, property tax increases as well -- so it's not 100% clear cut).Point is, it's a estimator.

As it happens, I am very concerned about my tenants - many Sec 8 voucher holders reside at my building and several of them are model tenants.

I don't want to defend myself in a lawsuit because a newbie agent saw some quick, easy profit and "cut a corner" he shouldn't have.Just my opinion.all cash

I'm lucky that most of my properties have sprinkler systems, so it's set it and forget it for the tenants.In the last two years, I've only had to call and remind someone about cutting/sprinkling the lawn once.