Eg. 2 yr old carpet was literally black, wood rot and leaks down the wall because they didn't shut windows when it rained, pretty much the worst tenants you could have.  

Because I was able to:- Put this deal together and learn financing and deal structure- Build my own processes for managing room rentals- Manage cash flow- Build credit by paying a mortgage down- Understand how taxes work when you have more than just W-2 income- Learn sales skills by "selling" my rooms to new tenants- Learn advertising skills by putting ads up to attract tenants- Learn property management skills- I can literally list out over 100 things here... but I think you get the point.I wish to sum all this up very briefly...

I literally had an attorney from Butler and College refuse to do a loan documents package for me because ... it was an REO.

i have a house in a similar situation here in buffalo, ny. just a piece of advice that may help you, marc. quite a while ago, the banks were instructed by the feds to limit the number of houses they place back on the market after a foreclosure. this was to insure that the market is not flooded and thereby lower overall property values. some banks started just " writing off" these lesser houses. basically, filing either a release of lien or a release of mortgage, and literally just giving the house back to the original owner. i suspect this is what has happened with this house you are dealing with, marc. go to the county clerks office, check for a release of lien or mortgage from the first bank or maybe even the second. chances are, the 2nd bank got the house with the purchase of the 1st bank, and they really don't want it, so, they write it off. at that point, the original owner actually owns the place free and clear, and a quit claim deed is what you want. buying the tax lien is a second great idea. if no one is interested in the mortgage anyway, no one is going to redeem it in a year, and then the place is yours. good luck to you

Again, that doesn't mean they are all bad but in brutally honest opinion, I don't think private street level buyers have the skill to really flush out the risks on these.  

  - We'd likely use hard money to buy and then refi after guarantee is paid  - If we sell for $900k and the existing loan split between the two units is $390k each, we'd net ~$510k on the upper and take $500k as Section 121 Cap Gains ExclusionTo Finish:— Second, we'd sell the lower unit...to each other (if we can, that is the question)    - We'll set up two Single Member LLCs—one for each of us    - We'd each "offer" our half of the lower unit for sale for $600k ($1.2M list)    - Our new LLCs each offer to buy the other's 50% share of the lower    - We get a $240k bridge loan for a down payment on the lower (or we each make loans to our LLCs from proceeds of the upper sale)    - The LLCs get a $1.2M loan to purchase the lower as 50% partners   - **Before I read here last night that equity was also a factor in relinquished and replacement properties, I thought this (very literal) exchange of our interests in the lower unit would satisfy our obligation to 1031 exchange into a prop with the same or greater value, thereby saving us the trouble of identifying new, good, financially sound props to acquire w/in 45 days—while we are also trying to move a retiring senior and 2 cats to another state. - BUT then I read the value **and equity** have to be the same or better in the replacement property- SO, that means if the lower appraises for $1.2 with $390k in debt, our pre-sale equity is $810k    - We'd be obligated per the 1031 to buy something with at least $1.2M in value and at least      $810k in equity   - We sell for $1.2M, we pay $390k in existing debt, we have $810k      - We use 1031 to pay off $240k down payment loan (if we can?)   

I have offered low offers on literally hundreds of properties, I have purchase every singe one that got accepted.  

If sheeted with OSB or plywood, you want to cut back a half sheet every second course and stagger in.The "easy" way:  If you only want to make a drip edge on a house with no gable eave, the easy/cheap way to do this is to sister 2 2x6 together and screw them onto the end wall of the house, flush with the roof deck and then encase them with flashing.  

@Ryan KeenanI like to look at brrrr more as a concept than the literal meaning. 

The building would be a prime location for a developer to make executive suites for professional offices as it is literally blocks from the court house.