A counter offer at the exact same price could be considered a bit smug in the market we are heading into.

We were conservative on the offer price at that time cuz we were before a turning point and it wasn't clear at that time where the market was going to head towards, and the seller had a higher appraisal prior during the summer.

These guys all hit it on the head.

Off the top of my head that is a great deal!!!

My Contractor's head wants to know if a) Your Contractor is licensed/bonded/insured and you've verified and vetted him?

Builders tend to follow population growth and in my city most of the building permits are headed towards the suburbs.

Contrary to popular belief, RE investing is NOT passive--it takes serious work (even if you have a good team managing your properties...you have to mange your managers, and that's a job).  ...the people who think it's a "set it and forget it" process are usually headed for a rude awakening. 

Sometimes there can be too great a focus on the here and now, which is obviously critical, but we sometimes pretend like in REI we shouldn't analyze where the market is headed.

Heads up, with a post like this, you'll start to get a handful of DMs from people looking to market their deals to you.

One thing about America is there is always some new government program if people really do need help paying for a place to stay and I am sure between you, the renter, and the millionaire putting heads together this tenant can find a new roof over their head without you having to feel obligated to be so far under market value.