Window treatments, a lawn mower and a weed whacker are just the start.When you renting, your risk of additional expenses over the rent is very small.

Hard money and buy and hold don't mix well together.Only buy and hold if you can replace your hard money loan with a cheaper alternative.

Alternatively, a property like this may be a long term play.

Would that be a better alternative without risks?

But, I certainly don't want anyone in the house that isn't paying.The alternative would be to post something on the door that says the seller has agreed to sell the house and they need to identify themselves.

In Germany, the tenants supply their own kitchens and bathroom fixtures, sinks and toilets, painting, and flooring.An empty apartment has no light fixtures, fans, window treatments.

So you might see some back-up heating system even with geothermal, if my hunch is on target.I vaguely recall something about thermostats being a bit different when they are operating with some of these alternative heat sources; you might check the model number of the thermostat and see what it leads to.Lastly, in my area the source of heat is part of the tax assessor records, so that you could look it up in the event of concerns about heating fuel source.

Kotlikoff says, the only alternative would be a massive printing of money by the U.S.

Now, if the payments on this house are similar to the rent you're paying otherwise, and the tax treatments makes the situation even better, that's a different story.

For future reference, consider looking at HUD properties...they give preferential treatment to owner occupants, even when there are lots of contingencies...