In fact, if you approach regular folks with slick, high polish campaign and you talk really fast, you might come off with "salesman breathe".

If the bank will not accept the short sale amount I would be able to pay to make this a successful flip, can I assign/sell the contract to a buy & hold guy OR even a regular home buyer who wants to live there with their family and is NOT an investor?

I do browse the craigslist occasionally but not regularly.

Even though the property is repairs, I always run my numbers assuming the tenants are going to move out the day of closing and then I will have to make the necessary repairs to bring the property upto our regular standards.

Just regular MI.

Fema flood maps are regularly updated. 

@Sheryl S for buy and hold you’ll need a regular dwelling policy.The policy referenced above would be for a fix or flip.Land you need a GL policy.

IMO, this could be great for a nice vacation/weekend home, but all I have ever done are regular rentals.

It's been a while since I was a real cigar aficionado, but I do enjoy a nice "stogie" or pipe every now and then, especially in the summertime while sitting outside on our patio enjoying the warm evening air (possibly augmented with our fire pit) and basking in the peaceful tranquil atmosphere with a nice glass of scotch, rum, or even beer.I've always been partial to Arturo Fuentes, especially the Chateaus in both regular and double varieties, Ashton's, and even Macanudo's, which have a light easy smoke and come in as many shapes and sizes as one would find at Huntington Beach, CA on a sunny July day.

A short sale is a distressed sale- The homeowner wouldn't be selling if not under some pressure whether by being underwater or not being able to afford the mortgage- how you buy a distressed sale is irrevelant to the comps.An appraiser down the line only cares that it was a regular sale, foreclosure or short sale- how you paid for it doesn't matter in his evaluation of the property and past sale.