In back yard there is a back slab porch area where the basement walks out and then a small in ground pool.In the back there is woods past the pool so no extra yard unless the pool is filled in.

Folks - John Thedford asked how to locate deals -- this thread is not a solicitation for people to promote deals or opportunities.

Looking forward to learning more, and meeting interesting folks with great ideas and experiences as well as sharing a few things I've learned.Mike

The misunderstanding of motives at the investment banks fuels comments like, banks do not sell to street level folks.

So we had our CPA dig into this exception, before we started telling folks about it.

He charges $100 extra for the tile, but doesn't charge me since I give him so much work.The only negatives are that the price is cash only and he's usually booked a couple months in advance.I don't know how he makes any money as he is there for about four hours and has expenses for materials.

Assuming you can get an appraisal at the price you're purchasing (not ARV - if you want to borrow against ARV, you will have to find a HML or a broker who lends from private investors), some banks don't do small loans or charge some extra points for loans less than $50K etc.If you have fewer than 4 mortgages, one bank to try is Regions Bank.

Would love to hear what folks are doing out there especially in California!

Its going to be a duplex/triplex that I live in, so if I could pay $200 and change a month extra to be done in 11 years, I'd be willing to believe I can make that happen.

There's a flat deduction for folks that fall under the AMT.Not only that, the Taxpayer Relief Act of 2013 reinstated the personal exemption phase out AND the limitation of itemized deductions.