We bought our house in Nevada Iowa for 87K. It was valued at 97k at the time. So if we turn around and sell it, we automatically have a significant profit. In the mean time I've grown grass where there largely was none before, and plan to paint the house in the near future. By picking the right house, and doing some neglected basic maintenance you can turn some pretty good profit quickly. Also, if you are the one that pays for the appraisal (offer to pay for it), you don't have to share what it appraised for with the owner.