Code fines become civil judgements and judgements follow you and ruin your credit report and being "up to code" is essentially a brand new house, so when you buy old housing stock, you run that risk.

I don't hear about them in the news, they are a non-profit, and because they are local they respond quickly to or are very understanding regarding local problems (like govt shutdowns in DC).

"Pre-foreclosure" really only means "prior to the auction sale", not "pre-filing".That said, if there's still a hard-copy newspaper in your target area, check the legal notices, or try their on-line news website if it does not require a subscription.

Even though you may have developed a report with a particular agent, you are under no obligation to continue using their services.

@Carol VenoliaIt seems to me after reading multiple online news articles from California recently that rents have become a huge *political* issue for activists in the state.  

You make your payments on time (which is super important) and this information gets reported to credit bureaus just like a normal card.You can easily raise your score with this positive information on your report.

Depending on your RE investing strategy, this could be WONDERFUL or HORRIBLE news.  

So my credit report would show a short sale or forclosure,   They report a short sale as "paid in full for less than amount owed".  

The more expensive one can report their payments to the credit burueaus which, if paid on time, should increase their credit where they can refinance out of my higher interest loan into the cheap bank money now available. 

Generally, look to the market of other sales, in some areas these are reported for tax purposes.