I went driving for dollars today and found some old, ran down vacant properties in some desirable area.

I look for tenants who will move out in a few years to not lose out on opportunity cost with raised rents).Ask lots of questions before even inviting for a viewing (reason for moving, total # of tenants, pets, desired start date, etc.)Google, Facebook, etc their name & get a feel for what they are like.Credit check you can simply ask them to provide but for me it's not necessarily a huge concern.Call References & reference an incorrect property address, see how they react.

A good investment will still deliver your desired return after paying them.Hope this is valuable feedback!

Could always set it up to end when desired, I.e. 9 month lease that renews as 12 or whatever.

My total out of cash will be $41K, I desire a 10% ROI on cash(do I put this down as an expense against cash flow?

If that's the case, he should be lowering his price if the place is sitting.However, we can reasonably guess that this seller is not refusing all but cash offers out of a desire to sell quickly - his property has sat on the market for a month. 

Even with the new valuation the property is still preforming at a 20% plus cap rate.I would love buy 20+ caps (B class properties) all day, but the lack of leverage presents a problem when one is trying to scale.I have however, been able to reinvest the cash flow directly into a couple small multi family deals.On the other hand, In my market the extra $ down (from sale or refi) can absolutely get me a larger multi family deal (which is my desired trajectory).so, the question is:(A) Sell a 45+ %+ cap rate property (which truthfully makes me cringe), take the double up on investment and 1031 to a bigger deal.

Therefore I am planning on either selling the property outright and taking the tax hit or doing a 1031 exchange for multiple properties in a more desirable market such as Dallas, TX or Atlanta, GA.

Since I have been on the list, it has barely moved and there are many other owners ahead of me so I doubt I would be able to lease it anytime soon.I currently have no need or desire to move but with all the talk about the market being at the peak, I am very conflicted if I should try to sell it for as high as I can and easily walk away with $150k or do a refi to get a lower interest rate and pull out what I can in equity.

Purchase price: $195,000 End unit 3 story town house in desirable neighborhood near a hospital.