Logic dictates that if the intrinsic value of a house is $200,000, the expenses of owning the house should be constant regardless of the market value of the house.

I am aware of two methods for estimating expenses: using roughly 50% of the monthly rental income, or using roughly 1% (or some other constant percentage) of the value of the property. 

We have accrued a passive activity loss that we carryover each year because our joint income is too high to take any of the loss on our tax return. 

We'll be looking for investors if you want to joint-venture and learn how we do things.

I'm trying to do all cash deals so I may need to search for joint venture partners to dynamite the log jam.

There is soooo much information available and not to mention being constantly bombarded with different types of strategies it is difficult to get the ball rolling. 

(http://blueprint-ventures.com)The whole tax lien market is about $15B per year, but I actually think smaller funds have the ability to get better returns than larger funds because they can be more selective and don't have the pressure to constantly put their money into something.

But I learned that having active, constant communication with the other side of the deal is so important, especially for the purchase.

I am constantly amazed at the low quality of work that many agents produce.    

Or consider working with another experienced developer/investor to bring a deal to the table and some cash for a possible joint venture!