Not too shabby since it was something he could afford 25% down and is making a small profit each month.As far as resale, we buy and hold so that number doesn't come into play for us. 

If you want to really play hard ball, contact the police and let them know you have a squatter.

There is a the way of taking it from non to repaying again and seasoning it for 6 months and resell it.You could always do a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure and get the house back and then run either an REO play or Seller Financed route.  

I'll be selling one of my first investments next month, and I can finally have the ammunition to play in the cash buyer league.

Now, your performance history will play a greater factor. 

That's where a mix of mass mailings to door knocking (not my cup of tea) comes into play and you might be able to do a "cash for keys" type deal.Does any of this help?

This neighbor unknown to my mother, had built a chicken coop, play area, parks his vehicles on the lot, installed a garden and to top it off - built a wire fence around my Mom's lot!  

I'm not a lender, so I'll speak to this as a fellow real estate investor.Looking at primary residences you're best low-money-down play would be a 3.5% down FHA loan, or a 3 or 5% down Convetional loan (unless of course you have access to the 0% down VA loan). 

The easiest play to do out of state investing in is in a location you have lived or have family from.

Not enough information, as we would need.What your living expenses are currently.Do you plan to have a spouse and or children.Do you want both you and potential spouse to retire or just you.What do you want your standard of living to beWhat investments are you willing to make, because this isn't going to happen with savings alone.Many other factors play into this, so the best thing you can do now is just save as much as you can.