But I need to have a more realistic opinion of what houses in one neighborhood rent for vs a similar neighborhood across town.

a few weeks after this post i ended up renting the house to a couple that just moved in town for a few months.

I have a couple inside connections I can not speak of, but yes, I can confirm from first hand knowledge they are being held back, and disbursed in a controlled mapped strategy.

We tried out a new pest control company for our units, he worked out good so we contacted him to do a termite letter for us and he came right on out the very next day (wow) and was very very happy that we chose to use he services.

Andre you have to watch out with that.Tenants can pay partial rent and say you took the money and agreed to a workout with them rather than evicting.I have my property manager go around and if they want to pay a partial he calls me and I ask for check stubs and other data to verify what they are saying is true (hours got cut,boss hasn't given check yet,boss gave bad check for paycheck etc.).Then I can make the decision on what the workout will be if any.If I let them just put deposits in my account or pay partials online that can lead to a big mess.CONTROL is key.If you give control to the tenants some might do right but many won't and they will take advantage.

Then you have them with land and another whole situation.In your town deals will be somewhat unique to your area.

Insurance agents have some control on the price of your policy.

There is a lot less risk and more control when your eggs are in one basket that you understand really well and you know how to guard.

Why not wholesale it to a cash buyer.If condos are a good investment in your town, depending on the renovation cost you have an ok spread.Also they told you 70k and need to close fast.

Assuming the loan means that the actual loan is transferred in your name, not just having control of the property.