We gave the tenant a choice, second hand oven that afternoon, or brand new one next week. 

Thanks for offering to field questions, @Isaiah FosterI have a few:1) Is it beneficial/probable to meet with a commercial lender to get "pre-qualified" before having any specific properties under contract or any specific properties in mind?

Here are your choices: - Custodial SD IRA, all transactions are done through a trust company, they hold the assets on behalf of your IRA and your account will be subject to custodial fees, asset-based fees, transaction fees.

Well, both career choices have its own pros and cons.

Great design choices too!

My wife and I enjoy watching those shows for entertainment and to soak in different ideas on design choices like where/when to remove walls, kitchen layouts, etc.Their market is different than ours, and the P&L's are drastically oversimplified to the point that I'd never expect to replicate their results.    

IMHO, it is alway beneficial to speak with a human being and let him/her know that I am a real person who buys local real estate on a regular basis.  

are there any investors who have made this business model work and can give me some insight on this to consider and tips on how to make it profitable and beneficial for these neighborhoods?

Your distressed owner has basically two choices, he can take your offer for cash or wait for the auction and lose everything.

I was divorced in 2010 and left with an upside down mortgage I couldn't afford ( I took it on by choice), which I "house hack" by renting 2 of my 3 bedrooms out.