How quickly they respond back to you is also a good measure of their hunger to get you a deal.  

@Kenny BreezeI would assume that all flippers have a different gauge for measuring/assuming profit on a deal and only part of it is difffetenve beytweekn purchase and ARV.  

The new rules will go into effect this Spring (2024) and include measures such as registration of vacant housing, inspection requirements to transfer property and the requirement that out of state investors have a "local agent in charge", a representative on the ground in Cleveland to be held accountable for the condition of the property. 

So it seems like my problem is I'm measuring these deals too independently rather than comparing them to avg CoC returns of like kind properties in specific markets determined by market conditions.  

In other words, it's likely to lose money, at least for the first few years.As others have mentioned there's some measure of safety with property in an HOA, but there's also risk.

There is no way to exactly measure the value of any one feature, but agents who do a lot of business usually can tell you pretty accurately how much value something creates.

Using their data, Atlanta would look like the best investment market which may have been true 3 years ago but certainly not the case today as measure by cash flow and gross yield.

You can remove the beam however the next issue would be if the inspector comes in to do another inspection and finds any structural issues they might start asking for engineer reports and making you do more corrective measures.

Cap rates are a measure of risk, so if you use last years numbers, the risk is zero.

I could measure returns against total cash into real estate and numbers would look considerably better.