What you are buying will determine to an extent what kind of structure you can put in place.If you are talking about buying a small house because you cannot get yield where you are at then you might want to be from a turn key operation that have management and maintenance built in.I have many clients from California but they are buying commercial real estate or larger apartment buildings so everything is built in for scale.

One of the best ways of determining if it's the best time or not, is to get a professional Comparative Market Analysis for your property.As an agent, I have access to RMLS of Portland and SW Washington and I'm happy to do that for you, for free.

Are there other tools (or some way to access to the MLS) that I can use that would help to determine the most accurate TMV?

depending on the reason for the foreclosure it can be 7 or 3 years - and that is determine by Fannie Mae.

When determining ARV I often face a conundrum with the subject property given the variance between houses in good condition, vs flips with high finish out.Lets say these are all comparable properties, brick exterior 1,500 sq ft 3/2/2Comp 1: Sold for 149 well maintained houseComp 2: Sold for 150 some minor updatesComp 3: Sold for 165 flip high level finish outComp 4: Sold for 166 flip high level finish outOur hypothetical subject property is the same as the comps but our exit strategy for it is a rental.

Hi BP,

I found a great house listed FSBO at $389K. Owners are motivated and want to unload the property. They've only posted external photos which leads me to believe it's a wreck inside.

Comps/recently...

Summary of Final Rule The final rule contains the following key elements: Ability-to-Repay Determinations.

At least come to a couple so you can directly determine whether it's worth it versus deciding on hearsay.  

(D)That the Tenant/Buyer is hereby notified to obtain renter's insurance to cover loss on his/her personal belongings located in the "premises" or on the grounds where"premises" is situated.6)COVENANTS OF LANDLORD/SELLER: The landlord/seller hereby covenants and agrees as follows:(A)That the Tenant/Buyer shall peaceably and quietly hold, occupy, use and enjoy the property, without any let, hindrance or molestation by Landlord/Seller or any person associated therewith.7)BREACH BY TENANT/BUYER: If the buyer shall fail to keep and perform any of the covenants, agreements, or provisions of this Lease/Option, or if the Tenant/Buyer shall ever abandon or vacate the property, it shall be lawful for the Landlord/Seller to enter into saidproperty and again have, repossess, and enjoy the same as if the Lease/Option had not been made, and thereupon this Lease/Option and everything herein contained on the part of the Landlord/Seller, to be done and performed shall cease, determine and be utterly void, except as set forth in paragraph (8), below.

More importantly though, you want to invest in the markets that give you the best chance of achieving your investment whatever you determine that to be.