If houses are sitting vacant for long periods between tenants, and prices are declining, I would encourage you to look at other markets.The final thing to remember:  Just because there's always a deal somewhere doesn't mean that there's always a deal everywhere.  

(finally);-)

It's been a busy couple of days due to Thanksgiving but I finally have a bit of time to relax.

Straight out of high school I served in the military and then spent the past 10 years working in IT.I have finally reached a point where I’m tired of working for the corporate industry on a limited salary while doing nothing for my retirement.For the past year I’ve been watching house flipping shows and decided I wanted to give it a try.Six months ago I bought my first house with a 203k loan that I’m currently living in so I could get some experience.I paid $167,500 for the house and took out $35,000 with the 203k.The house was a probate that had been abandoned for 5 years.Half the house was on a concrete slab that had sunk about 4” in the middle and it was completely outdated.We removed 2 load bearing walls to open up the kitchen, knocked out the back wall, built a new subfloor, and put up a 4 panel sliding glass door to let in some sun light.We installed porcelain tile in the kitchen, stainless steel appliances, new cabinets and quartz counters as well as recessed lighting.We fixed the foundation problems by mudjacking to raise the floors and carpeted the back 3 rooms that sat on top of the slab.As you can imagine we ran through the $35,000 quickly.The 2 bathrooms are still outdated and the house needs new siding.After the renovation we had it reappraised (per the 203k loan agreement) and they said it was worth $215,000.About 3 months after the renovation I attended a 3 day Fortune Builders seminar and come to a realization I probably could have saved about $20,000 if I had systems and processes to follow before I purchased the house.After listening to BP podcasts and hear other people’s experiences I’m quite fortunate I didn’t lose money.This sums up my real estate investing experience.

Now we just have to finalize the negotiations (hopefully close by end of year), and rinse and repeat!

I'm Krista Patrick and I've actually been a member of BiggerPockets for about six months now but I've been spending my time reading (books, forums, the Ultimate Beginners Guide, getting started, etc), listening to podcasts, absorbing as much knowledge as I can, and saving but I think it's finally time to stop being scared and start introducing myself.

Hi DeeDee,I too am new to REI and excited to finally embark on this journey.  

You can manage or avoid this problem in future by structuring your deals on the acquisition side by studying title.Clouded title can run the spectrum between defective ownership by prior owners & heirs to erroneously recorded encumbrances.

Finally he inspected the alarm clock and learned that it contained a hidden camera and a memory card.

This process- It starts at the vendor, Then goes to a regional distribution center, then finally to the retail sales store.