Now if someone remodeled a SF home nearby and offered a $99 move-in special that would be a different story.

You'll may want to consider a property that needs just a little bit of updating (like paint, carpet ,etc) and possibly use a 203K remodel loan which allows you to wrap the repair costs into the loan.

MUST GO ASAP.Date: 2012-10-18, 3:11PMI have a 2bedroom 1bathroom stick built house for sale.The inside needs to be remodeled.

Remodeling Magazine states these facts: An attic bedroom returns 72.5%.

We took a look at properties for sale, as well as listings that were already sold and being remodeled (or were already completed) to get an idea of what's available, average rents and ROIs in the area, and the different neighborhoods.

I can offer 15+ years in residential remodeling and construction.  

That owner remodeled the entire thing and then lost it shortly after.

Maybe they have equity trapped in the property and want to deploy that cash somewhere else (like buying a larger primary residence, pay off debt, remodel their kitchen).

While this can be an attractive feature it may mean that you can have trouble with septic systems, trouble in remodeling, trouble rebuilding if a property were to burn down.There are some beautiful homes on the Puget Sound near where I live.

I've gotten some general background info from a friend who lives on the block, including the fact that the owner lives next door to the property and originally intended to remodel it and re-rent after purchase.Friend thinks the property has been vacant for years.