CA/ILL are so far under water that in comparison San Diego 0-Down homeowners who bought in the summer of 2006 are in the chips.

From what I have seen they are more interested in the 100,000 to 200,000 range and if you are above or below that you are OK.

Two comps have sold for the $220k range recently but I'm staying very conservative.

Is it a beach rental or a standard SFR off the water?

I know someone who accidentally let their water be shut off-- they didn't pay the bill on time.

The 50% Rule basically states that for a large and diverse sample of rental units and over a long period of time, expenses (including rent loss and capex) will be somewhere in the 50% of gross rents range.2

Get some more buyers looking at it.Then if they all only offer in the $15000 dollar range you can be sure you most likely overpaid.Explain to the owner as best you can.

yes, that sounds about right, but in the $100k ARV range I'm finding it tough to find 80% deals.I try to stay in within 10 miles of my house, I avoid any neighborhoods that have a lot of rentals (which is sort of funny), etc.I'm having to look outside of my preferred neighborhoods/school areas (not school districts, but say in Mesquite, there are certain schools that renters prefer, so I really prefer to buy in the areas that qualify for those schools.Erik Drentlaw yes, that's the idea anyway, I haven't actually gotten myself to "pull the trigger" on any of those deals,,I try to follow my business model closely, and this is something that doesn't "fit"

Comps selling in the $250K range.

It is only a matter of time before an expensive repair/replacement. 35% and the numbers look great, but I think that is a recipe for failure.The other problem is 4-plexes in my price range are not common.