As some mentioned its all about their priorities and we try to keep lines of communication open and offer to transition them to friends or family but in the end they hunker down and the marshall is knocking on the door.I guess what I am trying to say is you do all those checks to minimize risk but there is no guarantee on anything.

Also in the rust belt where jobs and city growth are minimal. around toledo college is your best bet.

As everyone said, no need to waste money and time on eviction at this time.

This is back in the day when the market is trying to recover and i have the luxury of pick and choose foreclosure with minimal competition.This is in Houston Texas and i bought it for 74,200$ 20% down.

This will allow you to know, before going out to the house, that you have a minimal understanding on the part of your owner/seller about you are about to do and who you are as an investor/wholesaler.Next, be direct.

I should easily be able to do the painting myself in a month and save $1800.I hate painting but hate wasting money more.

I have come to the conclusion that this is a waste of time searching for deals on the open market, and that before you get into the multifamily business, you need to get educated to become credible, start a relationship building business with the players in the area, and a start a marketing business that directly reaches out to the owners of these properties - to break bread with them and share your goals.  

When I had agents that I trained up they would waste a lot of my time which Is why I got rid of them.When you get busy your time becomes worth a lot of money.

You can institute leverage into private lending with minimal risks.

Those guys are the pros...let them help you.You could also minimize grout joints to 3/16 or less.Good luck!