In 2017, I paid appraisal and credit report fees in 2017 for a rental property that I closed in early 2018 and I put in an EMD on another rental property which was returned in 2018 due to title issues.

I want to cut down costs all around the board but in return I get a less valuable vehicle and practically lose the down payment.

What is the rate of return on this?

The previous years are there for comparison.Number of liens sold to investors:2018 - 1,739 (1,376 bought by investors - 363 Struck to County as no bidders)2017 - 2,141 (1,902 bought by investors - 239 Struck to County as no bidders)2016 - 1,880 (1,600 bought by investors - 280 Struck to County as no bidders)2015 - 2,039 (1,808 bought by investors - because 231 struck to county as no bidders)2014 - 2,5752013 - 2,382Total dollar of liens sold:2018 - $1,776,766.27 ($1,594,714.45 bought by investors and $182,051.82 not sold) 2017 - $2,175,069.34 ($1,890,259.85 bought by investors and $284,809.49 not sold)2016 - $1,874,010.88 ( $1,694,277.89 bought by investors and $179,732.99 not sold)2015 - $2,678,533.35 ($2,336,551.03 bought by investors - $341,982.32 not sold)2014 - $3,015,871.872013 - $3,435,014.32Average rate of return overall:2018 – 6.53% (5.45% by investors when subtracting out struck to county liens which all get 16%)2017 – 7.26% (5.94% by investors when subtracting out struck to county liens which all get 16%)2016 - 6.28% (5.25% by investors when subtracting out struck to county liens which all get 16%)2015 - 6.75% (5.40% by investors when subtracting out struck to county liens which all get 16%)2014 - 5.86%2013 - 6.55%Number of Investors who won liens:2018 - 872017 - 972016 - 742015 - 892014 - 1162013 - 201Total Number of bids for all liens:2018 - 11,8982017 – 10,5502016 - 8,8232015 - 10,5252014 - 18,8122013 - 99,073,789You bid down the interest rate in 1% increments from 16% down to 0%.Percentage with the most number of bids overall:2018 – 5% had 1,783 bids2017 – 5% had 1,315 bids2016 - 4% had 2,680 bids2015 - 6% had 2,391 bids2014 - 7% had 3,542 bids2013 - 4% had 36,251,623 bidsMost bids per lien/parcel:2018 – 1 lien had 28 bids2017 – 3 liens had 23 bids2016 - 3 liens had 20 bids2015 - 7 liens had 24 bids2014 - One lien had 41 bids2013 - One lien had 470,295 bidsCreated a Pivot table where I grouped the liens by "Property Use Description".

Value that well outmatches the monthly cashflow return!

Bottom line I would have to put in all this money and work, to get a average return.

When you run the #s paying all cash, what does that do to your cash on cash return metric? 

If you're factoring in what the equity build-up is over time, your cash flow, and the amount the property appreciates (be realistic), you can calculate your IRR (Internal Rate of Return) which takes into account all of those factors; not just cash flow.  

My experience has been that your return on investment correlates with your involvement in the process.

These programs are much more lenient and allow Alternative income streams to qualify such as: Liquid Asset calculations for incomeBusiness Bank DepositsPersonal Bank Deposits Expected Income New Employment income1099 IncomeCommissions & BonusesAccount ReceivablesNote Receivables Contracts for future incomeNew Rental IncomeExpected Rental Income from property planning to rentConsiderably different calculations on Tax returns