I took a loss on a deal for just this reason.  

She pays the rent on time so far, but I think If I can sell this property for a break even or a small loss, I could find me a cheap franchise to completely get away from rentals someday.

As long as I protect myself from a loss on the property, I should be ok.

I would gather and collect the comps to find the ARV and new projected profit / loss statement after the repairs are done.

The agents your have bird dogging for you...Do they do REO/BPO/Loss Mitigation?

Unless he is sharing in the profits/losses, there's no reason why he should be making any decisions regarding the renovations.Btw, sometimes I go to restaurants and let the chef choose my meal -- I typically pay a big premium for that experience...and I'm not always thrilled with my food

i.e. don't get insurance, and on the off chance something catastrophic happens take your loss and sell the land for $3k or whatever it is worth.  

You may qualify to be a real estate professional under IRC section 469, which means those pesky passive loss limitations that happen to folks with a day job (like me) are out the window!

I was leaning towards keeping it and eating the loss but instead of following what I thought best, I listened to others and sold it for 435k.

They're requesting information from real estate investors on how this can be best accomplished with the following goals in mind: * reduce the REO portfolios of the Enterprises and FHA in a cost-effective manner; * reduce average loan loss severities to the Enterprises and FHA relative to individual distressed property sales; * address property repair and rehabilitation needs; * respond to economic and real estate conditions in specific geographies; * assist in neighborhood and home price stabilization efforts; and * suggest analytic approaches to determine the appropriate disposition strategy for individual properties, whether sale, rental, or, in certain instances, demolition.