I get $280 (gross) income from the rent, and a potential $10k profitTenant gets a unit in great condition in a good part of town for a reasonable price.Everyone wins, right?

I told them there was nothing that could be done, it's not a hazard, and they accepted the condition when they moved in.

My lawyer rolled her eyes when we discussed such clauses.

Any good RE Lawyers you recommend in the SLC area?

I believe that in pretty much ANY state, the Landlord Tenant Laws states something to the effect that "landlord may withhold from the security deposit amounts that are reasonably necessary for (a) rent or other amounts due the landlord and (b) to restore the unit to it's condition at the commencement of the tenancy".

It is not enough to know what is for sale unless you know how much it was for sale, how long it was listed, the condition, the terms of sale (short, REO, normal), and the closing price of that home.

If you have completed any amount of short sales you do upfront work first to not waste time.Never take what a seller says at face value.They will tell you anything to try and get help to solve a problem but the issue is they don't know they are hurting instead of helping.The problem with sellers is at first they are motivated to do a short sale.Then as time goes on and credit is ruined and they have moved out they become emotionally detached from the property.The buyer have unrealistic time lines to close for a short sale.You need to know if your market is declining,flat,or appreciating every month.If it's appreciating or flat the benefit is to the buyer.If it is declining the benefit is to the bank because by the time it close it might have lost 5 to 10 percent of value from the contract price.Your bank actually moved pretty quick with the short sale compared to some others.A buyer and a seller need to understand it could take 3 to 6 months or longer to do a short sale.A friend of mine that is another broker in Florida has completed over 800 short sales.He is a master at them.I did residential for a few years but then moved to commercial so I haven't kept up with all the regulatory junk on the residential side.He does all residential and does not take the short sale unless the seller agrees to certain conditions from the beginning.

This can let you get more details about the condition, size, and amenities for the property.

If it's local or regional they might finance you with enough down and keep it in house for a little higher sales price.The big banks usually just want to dump it for cash.I would buy in a commercial area if the right conditions existed.Is the property management company the bank has employed hispanic??

The lawyer said I would have been stuck but the auction site intervened and I got 100% back without taking official possession!