I was so eager to jump on it because it was one of the few properties that i've seen so far that would actually produce a positive cash-flow.Finding my first property has been a lot more difficult than I expected.

Right now I am contemplating moving into SFR deals, simply because they produce more cash flow per unit and assuming I want to retire off my portfolio someday, I'll need less SFR's as opposed to condo's to reach my income goals.

Bill makes a good point and one I didn't mention because I assume people will update stuff before doing it, but with human nature I know I'm wrong.But the other point is much is still use-able.

I've seen what California women spend on dogs....All in good nature.

Now, you are asking a bank to lend you money for a project that needs to produce income when you are all said and done.

It seems that many real estate investors got into real estate as it naturally coplimented a business that they already had such as construction.

I'd much rather buy a turnkey cash producing business with a long lease already in operation.

Special assessments will blow your rules out of the water, just like major repairs need many years to amortize over your investment to meet your percentage "criteria", an unplanned special assessment is hard to swallow for an investor.It is in the nature of the board to not raise dues.

My wife and I are conservative by nature so the thought of 15-20 mortgages is scary to us.

Our houses that we work on are not restoration projects, but more of a bringing the original flavor back to life with some updated points.For an example, last year we worked on an amazing home with a smaller footprint (720 sq ft) but had three stories.The Craftsmanship of the word work was outstanding; just a little rough at places and 90% of it was painted.If this was our own home, we might have stripped the paint, revealed the oak, and refinished all the woodwork, making it drop dead gorgeous (We love natural wood).