I assume a 10% fudge factor, usually plenty for unseen and the unexpected, while a few times that wasn't enough, more often it's within 2% of the initial guesstimate.

I haven't done much research on this but I bet its 2 fold.

Then I have had smaller apt buildings for example one I did 12 units bought at 184k sold 7 months later for 257k;) Brian B has a big business and certainly sounds like the most active guy I see in this forum I bet he could entertain us with some great deals he has done.

After speaking w/the homeowner today I think the town may be more willing to negotiate or work with them/me than I initially thought.

This was covered the other day:http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/83731I bet this guy's other tenants have all paid their March rent early and most have probably paid April.

I think you may need to adjust your verbiage on the initial communication if anyone thinks YOU are going to be the one living in the house.

Initially, a pre-approval will help, but it's not a commitment on the deal, for that it will need to be appraised and accepted prelim title, some lenders charge for a commitment credited to the loan origination, some don't credit back but may have a fee, so not taking the loan and going to a HML can be expensive.

I just inspected a property yesterday, and got my first real look at it.Here is the information:Asking Price: $15,675On the Market: 79 DaysComparable Comps: 25-35K (I believe this to be a little low right now (The area just a few years ago was roughly 55-65K)Expected Rent: $500 to $600I did not factor in Closing Costs, but I figured a $7,000 bid offer with a contingency for inspection.Since most of my cash will be used up in the initial purchase, I plan on using the property as collateral to secure a personal loan for $12,000 at 7.5% (Not sure if this is too high) over 5 years.I assume that I got the COC correct?

Any questions you have you can bet the answer is here!

I'd be willing to bet that the second one is the more common story of the two.