The phone rang off the hook on the drive home and I went into the contract the next day.

When I take a card I write down what area they are looking for property, price range, max repair cost etc.

We've staged every house we've ever sold, including many in the $90-100K price range.

Nadia,If you buy homes in the lower range of CA prices ($150,000 - 250,000) and you offer your tenants a rent-to-own contract, then you would only be collecting rent which may not conflict with religious rules against interest.If you offer the prospective tenant an option to buy the house within a fixed time period (usually 2 - 7 years), then the tenant will have more incentive to take good care of the house.

It rents for $1600/mo and comps somewhere in the ~$275k range.

Lining up financing will show a realtor and any sellers that you are at least somewhat serious and not just wasting their time.If you have no idea of how much financing you need to line up you may want to have a discussion with a realtor first to clarify your goals and the range of prices of the types of properties that match your goals.

Property price hasn't gone up yet.Jordan - Annual expenses above include tax, insurance, water, etc.. but here's a more detailed breakdown: Mortgage interest rate (30 yr fixed) = 4.625% Property tax = $9481.94 Management fee = none (i'm managing it myself) Insurance = $2450 Water and trash ( if you're paying for it) = $930 Snow removal = $1000 Maintenance reserve = $1200 Cap Ex reserve = $10,000 (credit I got from seller) Vacancy = 5% ($3,240) As for cap rate in my area, I'm not sure but in a quick search it seems to be 4%-8% range.

Structures might range from 50/50 to 80/20, and may include a preferred return.

It depends on the price if the home is listed in the 7 figure range then the answer is probably yes, if the home is listed at 150k then probably not... think about it in % terms

In California, for example, I can search a date range for all recorded NOD's.