Well, that property certainly will not appreciate and infact it will be of less value than one maintained, so when you sell it....and ALL real estate is sold or transferred at some point and is ultimately carried at a book/appraised value to determine wealth (even if you drop dead and your kids end up with it) you lose the potential value.

There are other BP threads on the HOA liens:http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/67/topics/61233-is-anybody-else-having-some-major-issues-with-hoa-attorneys-and-crazy-fees-http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/41/topics/57660-which-liens-survive-foreclosure-http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/103/topics/58702-purchased-a-hoa-foreclosue-now-what-http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/70/topics/49919-tax-deed-in-floridaIf you have to bid at auction, you should make sure your cash position is sufficient to cover your expected top dollar bid.Some gotchas to look out for at auction:http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/48126-title-lien-searchhttp://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/105/topics/50670-dancing-with-deeds-liens-notes-mortgages-and-the-like

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Even realtors who put comments like "act fast this one won't last long" and it ultimately has a DOM of 120+.

Our ultimate goal is to pick up mainly multi-fam properties near universities and rent them out to students.

If you ultimately decide to go the lease option route, you can set it up either way (Option 1: You charge him a full monthly payment to cover both units & he subleases the other unit, in that case he would be responsible for the full monthly payment even if the other unit becomes vacant....OR...Option 2: You lease the one unit to him and give him the option to purchase the entire building at a later date.

I wonder if there is a mistake there, or if there is extra square footage below grade that's not counted (but the beds/baths below grade are).Ultimately, there isn't enough information here to determine a true resale price or a realistic appraised value.

[that's the first reason realtor is involved]The reason I specify the "rent credit" is because 2 things can happen:1. if I say the credit is going to pay down the total property price when the option comes due, the T/B still has to come up with 100% finance2. if I structure the credit to paying down the down payment, the T/B then only need finance the portion that is remaining, which results is a much higher rate of purchase [ if this is the ultimate goal of the owner, I present this as an alternative to going through the traditional way of selling the house, which takes time, and this is almost instant?

And if you are trying to rent them for a while, but ultimately flip them for cap gains then this is a good proposition.

Re-read your statement carefully - the word "presume" should make you stop & think (and if it doesn't - I'm telling you to stop & think about it).Ultimately expenses are allowed if you incurring those expenses is reasonable and necessary to carry on a profit making activity.