ok I have this place that I'm looking at for my own personal home. it's REO and listed with an agent, they are asking 197k for it.its 3br/2ba, 1660 sq ft...theres confusion on that too I've seen an old mls from 2002 stating it was 1800sqft tax roll shows 1660 2br/1 baththe property is another issue, this broker says it 1.1 ac, the prop survey is showing 4.5ac, an old mls has it as 3.5 ac...so it really needs a survey to be sure. i know for sure it's much more than 1.1acanyway, its a modular home, either 1994 or 1999 depending on who you believe. it needs some repair, new air unit for sure (3k), new kitchen (3k)probably carpet, paint, mostly cosmetic. so i figured 15k for conservative figures. comps in the area are going for about 190-230k in full working order. it's tough to calculate ARV when the surrounding area varies from 80k to 1.5milso this is what i calculated.....195k and its an REO, so 30-40% off or 70% or arv = 136.5k - repairs (new heat/air 3k. carpet 2k , paint 1k , kitchen 3k, 9k not including what I havent seen) I figured bout 15k to be safe. which brings me to 136.5 (-15k) =121,500 fair value depending on the amount of property could be another 15-30k an acre depending on who it belongs to .

Hi bs73,While it is true that the market conditions nationwide are not as HOT as they were a couple of years ago, and indeed, some areas are declining, there are lots of areas in the country that are doing just fine, and some areas that are booming!

So some investors really would just like a lead and not an agreed contract if they feel they can negotiate a better deal than a birddog (most birddogs are new and not that good at negotiating a RE deal as they are learning).A variation that can work if there is a bit of trust....The spotter finds a hot prospect.

The AZ market is HOT!!

I understand why the IRS recaptures depreciation on things such as the building itself (which is essentially never just tossed in the garbage), but if you use an air conditioner and toss it in 5 years, should I have to pay a recapture tax on the depreciated amount being that it's now at the landfill?

I thought of the same idea too using my freedom in the air to acquire properties anywhere.

Still have air conditioning.

Count it a blessing for the opportunity to gleam valuable knowledge from this individual but I would take the knowledge that I've learned and drop him like a hot potatoe.

I hear the smokies are HOT though!

They were built in the 70's and 80's and have no or one car garage also no central heat or air.