The First One Reallllllly is The Hardest

[Nik Doukas]

Today was another offer lost to $10K over asking (I was surprised). Starting to wonder if I'm going about my search all wrong. I'm working with a fantastic realtor but we can't seem to find a good first place. I'd love a small multi house hack or a SFH with the opportunity to force a bunch of equity (to then get a HELOC and use it for more deals).

Aside from limited supply in the area, I think a self imposed challenge is that I'm currently only really looking at MLS due to wanting to use a low down payment for owner occupancy.

Is there a way to use a low downpayment option for an off market deal? Anyone have any experience moving into a place with a land contract/seller financing on it?

Thanks!