We like the idea of investing in real estate to generate extra cash flow.

Not sure if they burn off extra gas??

I have a conservative budget set that even allowing for extra personal expenses we can save $15k-$20k per year.

But your ARV would still be the same as your extra quality was not so much an attempt to push the ARV up as it is to push the holding costs down.

If that's the case, and the city will issue permits without any input from an engineer then you might be OK.The seller being aware that you want to add a second story in no way, IMHO, means its their responsibility to guarantee you can do that.

I assume you're taking into consideration everything for the homes: taxes, insurance, vacancy, repair reserves, expenses (CPA, utilities, permits/fees), property management, etc.The way I have been able to purchase my investments in such a short span, is to purchase investments which need significant improvements, complete the improvements myself (I'm a contractor as my day job), rent the unit and then refinance to pull cash out.In addition to doing that, I went to friends and asked to borrow money.

They may require more skin in the game and will probably critique any potential deal extra closely but you will probably be able to find one.

As long as 75% of the rent will cover the PITI on your investment property, lender will give you a loan.If you only need $600 to cover your PITI, the extra $150 from your rental income is considered as positive cashflow, which will help lower your overall DTI.

If you're doing anything that would require a permit, you really should take it seriously.

It's definitely more for the service but the forecast says the high is 30 degrees today and it's going down to the teens tonight so the extra charge is worth it to me.thanks again everyone!