.- Another global health scare...what a coincidence...O_o

Most of the time, they are in a condition where you should be able to finance them, assuming you use Fannie Mae as the lender. 

Would you ask the owner to pull the permits for what he did in the past as a condition of the sales contract?

Hey @Sheree Fullwood- yeah, CapEx can be a little tough to know, because it depends on the age of the property, how well it was maintained, the condition,etc. on a single family house, I typically want to see between $100 and $200 per month - maybe more or less depending on how nice it'll be when I rent it.

How hard was it to get a conditional use permit and was there an extra cost?

Look what happens historically when local economic conditions drop off..

If the house is old then you really do need to bring the staircase up to current health/safety standards.

Its been vacant for 12 years  in that condition.

Gas prices are at record lows so you really do not need to switch if everything is in working condition.

Even if there is money left over, it's a very low return on a 200k property.However, there are a lot of caveats as to why I believe this will work for me.Self managing = zero management costsProperties start in good condition, so I can minimize maintenance costsI plan on selling properties in less than 5 years after purchase to further decrease likelihood of large capital improvements becoming necessary.I have reserves in case large costs come up, as well as a 30k credit card if stuff were to really hit the fanI invest in a transitioning neighborhood, in a transitioning city, in a high appreciation state.I start with added value on day one.