Lower appraisal means less money available for the HELOC, which is a MAJOR tool in my investing for the next two years.

One of the perks of the program are the loan terms, which are a fantastic tool for RE investors.

If the home is in a good neighborhood  (A/B), I would hold and take the positive cash flow over time, as the home *should* appreciate in value. 

My agent told me since I am looking for a property that is $800k in value I would have to make $8000 monthly net salary to get approved for the loan.

I started on my first "test run" and quickly realized I', clueless as to insurance costs, or even trash pick up (Republic doesn't  seem to have street pick-up rates listed on their sight).However, unless your pro you only get 5 turns on the "toys", so maybe practice with this one www.biggerpockets.com/tools/REIPropertyAnalyzer.xls-- then you can also figure % for maintenance and/or capex (older house, higher%, new home...)Have fun!

I myself am a brand spanking new investor and I feel that attending these things if possible would be a great opportunity for new and old investors alike to pick up a tip or two that could add some value and new tools to their repertoire. 

It all depends on the specific market area and what is the overall influence these distressed sales have in value trends and market conditions. 

During our rehab we converted the house back to having a garage, but we were screwed whether we did this or not. at $185/sqft, 300sq/ft is around $55,000 in value loss.

Throw the address into the city assessor's online lookup tool.

Using the calculators/tools on BP will prove very valuable as I look for deals in my area.