I bought it outright, financed the costs to fix it up but need to wait 6 months from the purchase date to get a mortgage on it to cover the fix-up financing (5% with mortgage vs. 12-19% consumer credit).

You're probably going to need to wait a year, maybe six months, before you can refi.Better, though more expensive, to get a HML and have an actual deed of trust on the property.

So, that might be something to consider, Sheka, but then you'll have to wait for money that may never come if the tenant/buyer doesn't perform.

Its great to find such a fantastic resource as Biggerpockets, cant wait to network and make money with you!

(I was actually at closing waiting for the wire to show up, which it was supposedly wired the day before.

-I am able to wait longer to find a better deal with a discount from market value but I find that these more finished homes often sell at close to fair market value(This one will probably comp at about 120k based on my estimates).

You can't necessarily leverage it as you aren't sure you can get it out, you're at the mercy of banks and interest rates.As for properties... buy something now and wait 30 years.

Once you are dealing with an approved short sale the waiting period goes down drastically.

Paint after major repairs/modifications are done, not before, and those shiny new appliances can wait until almost last so they don't get damaged in the chaos.

If it's soon, wouldn't it be easier to just wait until it expires and not renew?