If you pull comps and write your letter, the appraisal does not have to change his Opinion of Fair Market Value, however he should/has to within the report address why your sales were not utilized and or why they are not considered reasonable comparable alternatives.

I'm definitely not trying to sway anyone's opinions here; but "everyone" has an opinion of everything...and if you don't have first hand experience with that particular person...then, it's just that..."

Fair enough, that's understandable, although I do see differing opinions (from searching around online) on this with some contractors being transparent about their markup and costs while others just providing a lump sum number.

What I am seeing in our areas are a couple of reasons.1) accidental landlords can finally sell- those who were waiting for the market can finally sell and get out2) relocation and cashing out the profit- those that are relocating and have no desire to move back to the area are cashing out the profit of 40k ish and running.Everyone has their own opinion.

After a while, i was contracted to start going into repossessed homes and doing inside pics along with adding my opinion to what may need repairing/replaced.

Personalities have been set, opinions formed and ethical attitudes established to fit their views.

Investing out of state is way to get started in my opinion.  

In my opinion, I think this is a great cash flow opportunity.As a broke newbie with low credit, this is obviously just a dream.

In my opinion I have found a tremendous benefit to working with someone else (as long as they are involved and being productive)1) having a partner gives you someone to bounce ideas off2) To me it's more motivating (ex, let's see who gets in front of more people this week)3) They can help finance your growth  with you.As long as you and your partner are motivated and skilled enough to succeed, you will do more than twice the amount of business that you would do alone, and make half of that.Hope this answers your question.

Here are what the numbers look like at 76k:Purchase Price: $76,00020% Down Payment: $15,200 Closing costs: $4,000 (estimate)Rehab Costs: $11,500 (could be less)Mortgage Payment: $300Gross Monthly Rent: $1250 Cash Flow: $325 (using 50% rule).ROI: (325*12) / (15,200+4000+11,500) = 12.7%Zillow says the property is worth 130k, I am getting comps pulled as well.Just wanted to get some opinions on this, its getting harder and harder to find deals out there that are in good areas.