However they are slow and they will do their research to determine valuesWhoever the taxing authority is, they will look at the value of the property in its current condition, then subtract foreclosure costs, marketing and closing costs to arrive at a net value to them.

., replacement cost.

The city inspector did sign off on the work, and I sort of knew it wouldn’t be perfect going into it, because he was 1/2 the price of other contractors estimates I received.

Some people purchase a property for cost segregation/accelerated depreciation purposes to save on their taxes.

Even in the smaller markets, a life cycle of a deal can stretch out 6 months before the exit and that can cost 30k once all is said and done.I like to tell people 50k is a nice starting point capital wise. 

I can barely get firms to look at columbus with 10x years of experience thats mostly for ground up. the average house cost is still less than 100k which means you have a lot of houses to tear down still to create a housing shortage. the economics don't make it favorable for any type of investing but turn key or maybe ground up in the urban core which works in any city. but compare any of these cities, I'll take Indianapolis, Chicago, Minneapolis, and columbus and Milwaukee and pass on the rest. 

Its unfortunate that your closing costs increased by $3,546 in order to fund your tax and insurance escrow accounts.

You can see the tax information and HOA estimates on there!

He can also refi down the road to lower his interest rate... but that comes at a fairly significant cost (say $3,000 - $5,000) - which will totally negate any mortgage pay down from owning the property in the first couple of years.  

That is the cost of doing business and the risk you have to calculate.