The timeline looks like this:1) Optimism is high, so is the price2) Sit with no offers3) Delist during holidays4) Relist hoping buyers infected with FOMO appear5) Cut priceWe're now in Stage 5 in many markets.5.

Rolling logs while cutting.  

Strong point — deferred plumbing and electrical shortcuts are some of the most expensive “surprises” new owners inherit.One of the bigger ones I’ve seen is patched supply lines tied into aging galvanized pipe.

Determine bearing capacity, shrink/swell potential, and compaction requirementsRun percolation tests if septic is planned.Check for expansive clays, rock outcrops, high water table, or contaminationGet slope stability analysis and cut/fill volume estimatesThings can be missed – I once did 12 borings in a 3-acre site yet still somehow missed a buried passenger train car used to fill the site in the 1940’s.  

On HML that adds up fast.I look at return on the cash I have tied up. 180 plus 65 is 245 in the deal. 40-50K profit on 245K deployed is roughly 16-20%.

Hi everyone,I’ve been spending more time looking at tax deed and foreclosure auctions, and one thing that always worries me is making sure I’m not missing something during due diligence.Before bidding on a property, I usually try to check as much as possible, such as:unpaid property taxesliens (IRS, municipal, HOA, utility, etc.)code violationsopen permitsjudgments or court records tied to the ownerpotential mortgages that might survive the salecity fines or special assessmentsanything else that could become my responsibility after purchaseThe challenge is that this process can be pretty time-consuming, especially when every county website is different and information is spread across multiple places.I’ve seen some investors outsource this to lien search companies or hire people to research properties before auctions, while others seem to do everything themselves.So I’m curious how other investors here handle it.A few questions for those of you who regularly buy at auctions:What is your standard due diligence checklist before bidding?

That works until rates invert or your brokerage cuts margin availability.

Hard to answer without numbers, but the decision usually comes down to the return on the equity you have tied up in the property.A few things that matter here: • Current property value• Loan balance and interest rate• Monthly rent and expenses• What you could sell it for todayA lot of investors focus only on cash flow, but sometimes a property with a little negative cash flow still performs well if appreciation and leverage are working in your favor.If you want, drop the numbers and I can run a quick hold vs sell analysis.

It’s online, so I can check things from wherever I am, and pulling clean reports has been way easier than I expected coming from desktop.I haven’t used Xero personally, but what worked best for me was switching to something that automatically ties transactions to each property — it’s cut down on setup time and makes reporting more intuitive than wrestling with general accounting software.

If the annual rent gap is bigger than expected, turnover and vacancy costs do a larger reset at renewal and tie it to real upgrades.