And in states that allow deposits and then settle up competition is higher as the price of entry is so low 5 to 20k deposits to bid.. now if you dont finalize you lose the money and can be fined as its illegal to bid and not close.

We rightly point out that an investment not meeting target returns does not necessarily indicate fraud; that any investment outside of US treasury bills is a RISK and a percentage of investments don't and won't work out as anticipated; and that leveraged real property investments are higher on the risk scale than a lot of other investments. 2.

Do you see higher vacancies in the winter, and how do you get proactive to help mitigate this? 

non owner occupied may get taxed at a higher rate than owner occupied.

I would think that participating in a sub to deal as a principle poses an even higher risk.

For instance, depending on your location insurance costs could be much much higher than indicated in the book, construction costs are a lot higher, etc. 

As others have stated, your fit & finish goals should be guided by whether you plan to:1) Rent: tenants don't always take care of a property, so you want to use lower-grade materials and workmanship.2) Flip: higher quality on workmanship and materials is usually required.Regardless, you always want to "Maintain to the Neighborhood".

Contrary to popular belief, this is not set because I believe it will give me a higher return.

Higher property taxes compound the expense for buyers, making affordability harder to achieve.

This is because the dwindling cash flow due to the increased rates has resulted in higher cap rates.