In my area I'm seeing signs written sometimes by hand, sometimes "professionally" done, that says, "Buy a home with only $500 total out of pocket!

Now if I went to somewhere like Merced, California, there are numerous foreclosures and a large drop in house values--totally different markets.

Ok guys, being totally new to this and just jumping in I have put a house under contract.

- 55.00 (10%)Taxes - 54.00 (650.00/year)Insurance - 42.00 (500/year)Vacancy - 28.00 (5%)Total expenses - 234.00/monthMortgage 142.00/month-------------------------------------Total 550.00 - 375.00 = 175/month cash flowCash flow good enough?

They only focus on cash flow rather than total returns.It is a never ending argument.

Once you get your labor-only numbers, just add them to your material cost spreadsheet and you should have a pretty good idea on what your total costs will be for each rehab task.

All of us are familiar with the "rule of thumb" ratios for how much your house payment should be as a % of your net income, used to be 25%, seems to have creeped up in recent years. But, how much of your net worth are...

Excited, confident...but totally in the dark,--Dean

They take a percentage of the total rent.

I totally refurbished my duplex in El Paso with the help of my dad and really had fun doing it.