Also I have a few buyers that I know will want to snatch this up because of the favorable spread.

In the "it depends" answer category, should i stick with whats common in the 'hood, what the best looking homes in the 'hood have (i am tending to favor this), or something else?

Therefore, it's reasonable to assume that the seller (again, assuming he's not an idiot) is going to negotiate a deal that is very favorable to himself -- at least 50% of the profits if he's smart.

And women who take risks are not always favorably viewed in our society.How are you going to handle all the (male) contractors?

Whichever you choose make sure you take into account the impact of taxes.Flipping is taxed as income.A long-term investor has more favorable tax rules and the opportunity to use 1031 tax deferred exchanges.

However, if things went south the exit strategy would be to dress up the property and aggresively market it based on favorable cap rate and income potential.

In this case you do not want to go along with their terms and their proposed terms appear to be in the their favor.

Lately there has been a real lack of multifamily properties in my favored area which is a real bummer now that I'm out looking.

Not to say avoiding risk, but at least you can favor the odds...

David,If a real estate agent does run the comps for you, the best favor is used that realtor to close your deals.Joe GoreDallas, Texas