Good morning Joe,I saw your post and my company is specialized in real estate project management.We are based in Paris and we will be delighted to help you with your project.Can we please arrange a meeting (phone call or Skype if you are not in France) to have more information about each other and define your needs and how we can help you with your project. 

He moves out and leaves items in the apartment ranging from a whole bed, to dishes, food in the fridge and pantry, posters on the wall and a nasty stove.

We agents can't resist offers involving food - it's our Kryptonite (shh - that's a secret). 

This way you get the loan you want and price in the slightly higher interest rate when making your initial offer.This does not include price reductions while finding repair items and other issues under due diligence this is just the loan component.Hope it helps for food for thought.

I pay a premium in the short run and they don't cash flow on paper as well day 1, but they increase your purchasing power over time and I also buy distressed under market in these neighborhoods to force some appreciation to market value in the short term; quality over quantity.If I buy a property and the price and rents don't go up over the long term, as the standard advice seems to go, then I've made a serious error in my analysis; inflation and CapEx will erode my profits away and I will lose purchasing power over time ... some food for thought from a slightly different POV.

My name is Erick F. Jarquin.  I am in the global trade of fruits and vegetables.  I work as a Director of business development for the Caribbean and Latin America.  I have zero experience in the real state market but ...

As stated above, except for any food or drink you happen to order, there is no charge to attend.

Of course, I am willing and able to assist the business even if it means grabbing coffee, food etc.

I can tell you when you move up the food chain into bigger deals this is how it works and how it should work.you try to flip a plat ( I do this ) to lennar or Horton or any other big builder.. you better have the powder to close.. they can walk from 100k EM in  a heart beat.. sit there and watch you die on the vine then have their land Ack guy come right back to the seller and buy it...

If food cost,rent,labor go up or store needs to be re-imaged or machines need replacing etc. then I can have next to zero profit.