Being on a busy street shouldn't have a negative effect on renting but will have some draw backs when it comes time to re-sell.

I've made offers on several short sales in the past but never actually bought one.I've been told to put language in the contract to the effect of "property will be delivered vacant and all of owner/occupants' or tenants belonging will be removed before closing date".What about the final walkthrough?

Basically what happened was the builder did not complete the project and built only about half+ of the town homes, and some are not paying HOA now, so effectively there is a 50% HOA deficiency.

But for now, I'm going to build a team by networking and research effectively on way's to avoid mistakes.

Dan I would just look at how many hours and money you will need to put into this deal and what is the return versus working on other deals.I fit is a difficult deal but I make a lot I might take it on.I fit is a difficult deal with close to or the same margins as easier deals I might pass on it.I second talking to a probate attorney.You need to know for your state what the options are.Probate properties can be a nightmare when the heirs want different things or disagree on the value of the property.

His effective tax rate may be 20%, but his marginal tax rate, and what this would be taxed at, would likely be higher.

But, by specifically stating a "Cash Flow" number that doesn't include these expenses, you ARE ignoring them.To not ignore them, your cash flow statement should be, for example:Cash Flow: $309 MINUS OPERATING EXPENSESAt very least, you should include a disclaimer to the effect of, "The Cash Flow and ROI numbers do not reflect the inclusion of operating expenses; actual cash flow and ROI will be lower."

They are all but gone, but the ones I HAVE seen still, require the property to fit within VERY specific guidelines...such as a specific part of the city, blah blah blah, and if it's going to be non-owner occupied, that may filter out some of those grants even further.

The exception is things that are billed just once a year and that are effectively taxes.

If you find out the deal doesn't fit you objectives in a few years, then you want to have an ability to market this property, with financing, to the largest available pool of buyers.