The insurance you buy will basically cover damage to the interior of the unit as well as liability, though it should certainly be cheaper than normal because it won't need to include damage to things like the building's roof/siding/etc.Also, if you haven't already, make sure the condo board allows owners to rent out their unit. 

You can usually buy them much cheaper than SFH per unit, and the rents are not that much less.

Generally if you season a year then you can get a better refit.In order to get around this I have deployed this strategy.Buy house for Cash (mine)Rehab for cash (mine)Get it rentedCarry a Trust Deed loan for 1 year, i.e. get a private money loan that is recorded on title with the county (these loans are generally less puts to originate and a cheaper rate as it is more secure because the rent is coming in, the property is rehabbed already and I can provide an ARV)After 1 year I will do a refinance.

They run Clay by code and it requires a permitOther burbs run PVC and it will be cheaper.

I manage some higher end properties so it's possible to find people a little cheaper but the old adage "you get what you pay for" rings true more often than not.

What do you think? Buying several buy and hold investment properties around 150k that cash flow well and are in decent areas of the city (minimal crime). OrBuy one 150k place and one that's around 450k that is in a li...

@Chris Seveney It seems like investing in condos could be a good way to go if you don't have a lot of money starting off because they are cheaper (considering enough due diligence is done).

You don't have to have exact numbers but your room for error decreases the cheaper the house, i.e. you might be able to afford to be $20k off on a $200k house, most likely, but will get killed being $20k off on a $40k house. 

While it is true that our median prices here are very high, there are though plenty of cheaper areas in the metro area.

How does buying a property from a distressed seller in a painful moment in their life, with cash, help them if you still got it real cheap and, more than likely, way cheaper than its current value even if it needs a lot of work?