However its still really hard for us newbie investors with no proven track record to get a bank large or small to give us a loan on an investment with none of our own "skin in the game" so to speak.

if your going with financing and a longer closing then you will have to show the bank your well qualified and pretty much play by their rules (their conditions, timeline, etc.) if they don't have any other offers or any cash offers (the bank i work with will take deep discounts for cash and fast closings (2 weeks or less)) you may make a higher offer but if the bank can get it off the books before the end of the month with a deep discounted cash offer then they will seriously look at it, even if they lose some money.

Andrea,Your signature closes with "wanting to get in the game".You have to decide what game you want to be in.

I assume you are buying for cash and there is no mortgage.Like I indicated, selling the property is a timing game to some extent and only by knowing local market conditions can you determine what may be the best time to sell a property from an appreciation standpoint.

International investing is a whole 'nother ball game.

Definitely age does play a part in value.... oh and condos are certainly age driven when it comes to value.I think it has to do in part, with the type of property building materials that were used back in the depression era vs those materials used post depression era...

We still have a decent down payment, but not enough cash to play the MLS in Denver.

I still think it's fair game to ask SPECIFICALLY what you violating - there should be an ordnance number or SOMETHING that you can refer to.If someone complains, you apologize for the inconvenience, remove them from the list, and you're done.

Play up the feel a studio is only for one person not a family angle to explain.If he fights it I would not feel great about going to court with this kid stuff and lead paint concerns being out there.

It's great to see that you're stepping back into the game, there is definitely a lot of good deals to be had.I suggest you check out the The Book On Flipping HousesInformation on the subject doesn't get any better than that.