Purchase price: $145,000 Cash invested: $88,000 Sale price: $350,000 Was planning on this being a semi-permanent family home... but of course a deal that was too good to pass up came along, and so we sold it in a hurry to purchase another single family.

Consider allowing for such instances in your budget.An Architect with a crew to do the work that he/she has used in the past might be a budget saver in the long run.Watch your property tax increases as you build out and once you are done--some places tax percent complete and time over runs with no income coming in eat into the budget.Actual colors can be a pain, consider having an in-situ (that's latin by the way) color board area on the building where you can try a few similar colors (and finishes) live and live with them for a week or so before deciding on an exact palate and finish.The more specific you can be (the more you know exactly what you want) the less Architect time you will burn.Using someone who has recent build experience in your area, with similar projects may help prevent costly errors re inspection times, and local code knowledge during budgeting... ie does your HVAC have to pass retail inspection, or Mall inspection...a costly difference, especially once in place.

NO entertainment business allowed (i.e. ax throwing, theater, bowling, music or alcohol) Desired Businesses: Pharmacies, Medical/ Retail Sales, Insurance, Engineering, Salon/Spa, Government Agencies, Tax/Accounting Firms, Attorney, etc. 

I went ahead and passed on the opportunity.

I have seen MANY times agents and sellers passed on the first offer because now they thought they could do better and they end up losing 10-20k for being greedy.

I know b/c there were about 5 I passed on last year; they went up in price so much...and I mean more than all the other houses.

I found a property I want to Brrrr, my bank I usually work with sells the loan, I know this is to free up credit lines and allows lenders to pass out money to other borrowers.

Personally, I would let the brother know what you plan to do (raise rent to FMV at end of lease), find out if he intends to stay at full market rate, then screen appropriately if he wants to stay (the current lease doesn't get changed, he passes the normal background check, and pays full rent on the new lease he signs after the old one ends--or goes month-to-month).

There were no other liens and the original owner passed away so we believe the condo to be empty.

It's a hard pass for me.