A conservative game plan may be best in your situation.If you start looking for investments and you're interested in Central Florida, drop me a line.

i used SMALL numbers and really this should help you see that 9% roi is not ideal.for a rehab say it costs you 3000 to rehab it - now you're making a REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT - that entails putting alot on the line (this also depends on your investment strategy) you want to buy a house, rehab it and sell it for $270 bucks?

I know the term safe is a relatively subjective term when it comes to real estate but I am talking more along the line of what neighborhood/area can one stand to make a fairly significant gain with a 15-25K cosmetic rehab/update?

I noticed that (re: low end & cash flow) on paper, too, although the concern there is A. problem tenants and B. resale down the line and lastly C. the seller usually overstates income/understates expenses so upon diligent research, I've found that the cash flow often is minimal or disappears altogether--and the repairs necessary (usually involving heating & insulation, since all the low ends I've looked at include H&HW) to make the property flow are quite high.

Realtors do risk liability so we have to walk a fine line but we want to help you!

the bottom line on all that "stuff", is if you're in it to be an entrepreneur - the NUMBER ONE SKILL you will need is the ability to SELL.

As for the equity line, I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea to use it, as long as you're not leveraging too much.

well actually I was thinking more along the lines of buying a high rise.

Since the website is free, that takes away that disadvantage, so bottom line, accelerated depreciation is available to those that want to take advantage of it.The next issue is depreciation recapture.

Also you will lose your "annual increase in assessment" cap when it ceases to be your homestead.Your last line says it all: My other concern is that keeping this as a rental forces me to buy the new house with an 80/20.