Hi ALL,I feel pretty sufficient analyzing the purchase of an apartment from going through the financials and physical aspects of due diligence.

Rental revenue could not be sufficient to pay all costs in high-value areas like Manhattan, which would result in negative cash flow.

Hi Celine,An umbrella policy is simpler to set up and manage compared to an LLC and you can get policies that are sufficient to cover the asset.

If you end up wanting to go FHA and it's a 3-unit, make sure you look into self-sufficiency.

BuildBook provides a free Construction Cost Calculator that helps you calculate total construction costs based on line items, rates, and quantities.

So I've found a regional vacation market, the Poconos, that seems like it has properties in my price and potentially sufficient cash-on-cash returns to be worthwhile.

As for paying with certified check, in most counties you only need to pay a deposit; the sheriff should have rules that set the amount of the deposit to be a percentage of the winning bid or a fixed minimum amount, whichever is greater.You determine your maximum bid, and then get checks sufficient to pay that deposit amount based on your maximum bid.

I hesitate to suggest that method and would be a bit more amicable with you being less leveraged on less positions(quantity of houses) in favorable locations(high quality areas). 

As with most big decisions in life, insufficient planning means you leave a lot up to chance or luck, and you are sufficiently prepared for unforeseen obstacles in the future.

This avoids the 3-4 FHA problem with rents not meeting the self sufficiency test.