For the sake of discussion, let's say that your future investor would pay $250k in today's dollars because he knows it will be nearly worthless by the time he comes to sell.Now you have to figure out how much money you have to make over your ownership period for the investment to be worthwhile.

Then I'll decide what minimum principal and minimum points will make the effort worthwhile.

Now, researching methods of generating leads (and asking the friendly folks at BP about those methods) is a good use of time -- but you want to be the one initiating contact if someone's lead generation product seems worthwhile. 3.  

Contrast that with my first few rentals: where I can house people for years with less stress, more certainty, and more fun (not always a picnic but worthwhile)....

OTOH, $335k potential profit is worthwhile, esp considering how quickly these houses are still being gobbled up, and each setting new records.  

There are a few worthwhile investments still though, mostly in DC that makes sense.

Would it be worthwhile to hire a realtor and sell as is and get a better offer and give the owner the 177k, minus commission fee (Realtor) and pocket the difference ??  

I’ve purchased two homes in the past five years, and can personally attest to the fact that the home buying process can be nerve-wracking, but tremendously worthwhile in the end.

How do I determine if the value of the house will appreciate enough to make the rehab worthwhile?

If you have a lot of assets to shelter, then having some kind of entity may be worthwhile.