PIG-gy backing on Ben Leybovich's unfortunate flooding experience, I wanted to know what methods Puget Sound area investors use to help them evaluate flood risk on a buy-and-hold opportunity.Secondary question would are water-related red-flags for a property, and what are things that give you pause but can be worked with?

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After all of this I ended up with 2 OREO  of course by the time I got them they were stripped not wanting to lose my 50k I had invested in each one I then rehabbed them and tried to sell them to owner occ's on terms.. ( common method pre dodd frank for lenders to try to maximize bad assets) do I dumped 25k into each of those homes put the owner occ's in and they made it maybe 6 to 8 months before they failed. 

Any good methods for pulling out the capital in the property?

Perhaps you could split the difference and explore lower priced options in areas such as Woodbridge or Manassas?

I live (for the moment) and work in NY and I am exploring the idea of purchasing an investment property out of state....perhaps Florida.  

I imagine it will be much easier to obtain financing with this method.

You'll way to verify what method of service is required in your county.

Too many heirs to come to a consensus and they all want their money now.The actual methods of seller financing are basically lease to own (where you just have an option to buy, then sublease) and a note and deed of trust (here)/ mortgage.  

Then you would subtract the depreciation expense which will depend on the method you take to depreciate your property...