Nothing has blown my doors off yet since my limit is only $90k but I am also considering starting a small computer repair/rebuild business.

When I call (professionsl) people to ask about repairs, they usually ask if the place is a rental or my home.

If you plan on holding the property for 5 years, and renting it, then yo should be fine, but it sounds like you are after a quick-flip, and that would be extremely difficult.If you buy, and then re-sell within 90 days, then almost no appraiser in CA is going to appraise the property for anything above the previous sale price, unless you can provide proof of funds that went toward repairs or improvements.

I recommend reading 2 negotiation books, 2 marketing books, 2 selfhelp/success books, 2 flipping books, and a handful of the Home Depot Do-It-Yourself manuals to get familiar with how a home is built and repairs are done.Heres a lot of good Real Estate Related Books.

Who gets to pay for this repair?

The returns are good news b/c now I can cross off those bad addresses from my list.2) I have gotten 2 responders (actually talked to me) so far out of about 300 mailed letters, and generally higher call volume calling my recorded message (can't prove it's from my letters, but likely given the timing).3) My letter was brief (one page) and highlighted the pain points for tired landlords (vacancies, repairs, late payments, expenses, etc.)Still not yet getting motivated sellers calling me, but at least I'm getting a few calls.

I am trying to determine the worst case scenario if I paid cash at a huge discount: What happens to a large condo complex - and the remaining unforeclosed homeowners - if it can no longer raise enough HOA funds for management, maintenance and repairs... ?

I've been investing in RE for well over a year now, and have had 2 properties that I've been relatively succuessful, a SFD property bought as a REO , repaired cheaply and increased equity by 40% and a 6 unit apartment complex that is now cashflowing and has increased by about 400% in equity.We will be finalizing some credit account the comming week to secure enough money to start buying atleast one property per month to add to our portfolio.Our goal is to buy properties in decent neighborhood at no less than 35% ARV , rehab and then lease-option or other type of seller financing/RTO deal.

I am finally in a position to prepare to list my rental, the repair work is about done, then the cleanup.

If your husband is the sole person benefiting from the reduce tax liability I would think that it would be best for his company to incur the costs for the repairs.