Critique our progress! And our bad decisions!

[Tashina Taylor]

Hi there! Hoping you can critique our progress (or lack thereof). 

My partner and I have tried to get loans through local banks, though we've hit a wall at 20% down. Even at a $50k loan, a $10k down is out of reach for the time being. We are waiting to hear from one more credit union (We've tried 4 banks) before we put the banks on the back burner. I should note that HML's won't touch our area because "we're far too rural" and "we don't have anyone to drive that far out to see the property".
The next strategy is to mail absentee owners of vacant land in our area, and do the same for dwellings. I'm hoping for a few vacant land deals as those prices are going to be more affordable and we have some experience "flipping" land for farm use...as you can imagine would be handy for a place like Wyoming. 

A few questions:

1) If we DO end up coming across a deal, land or otherwise, what I want to negotiate towards comes up blank. I have no idea what to ask; I only know what I can offer - which is to take the problem off their hands, but only with low monthly payments with a small down (or no down at all). I know I'm supposed to help solve their problem...but what do I do when I have to rely on only our own limited resources when things like HML's and bank loans are not available for being creative? Just stick to what we can offer and hope for the one deal?
2) As far as that unicorn owner finance deal goes, where should I go to make sure any contract we decide on is safe and legal in the state of Wyoming?

3) What the heck should I do with my primary home?? We got it with the intent of fixing it up as we lived in it, but this was about 3 months before we found BP (of course!!). As many others have encountered, we thought it was a good deal. It could be, with the right renovations, but we have no equity (MAYBE 10k...the banks won't give us a HELOC over that, though) and no guarantee of equity after a face lift. We are considering selling it as renting it out is not allowed via the lender (subsidized). We also are not allowed to sell it at a profit or else we have to pay back what was subsidized (About 15k). We are allowed to sell it at any time. Now that we're in a different mindset about housing, we are considering selling this place and calling it a wash and get something more along BP lines...like a house hacking situation.

A few problems:

1) Flipping land here is impossible in the winter. This would only work during warmer months and we're about out of those.
2) Same thing applies to houses. We'd have to do all reno's indoors only, and only in places with working heaters. 
3) Wyoming is kind of this forgot about state. It's all boom and bust cycles which can both help and hinder. Google "Gillette Syndrome" for example.

A few advantages:

1) My job allows me to live ANYWHERE! And right now we'd be ok living ANYWHERE in Wyoming. We're thinking Laramie to take advantage of the student renter market. We're also thinking that might be a saturated area.
That's  my only advantage...

Thanks for any advice and help you have!

[Jerry W.]

@Tashina Taylor, you have to make the deal fit your abilities.  Right now Gillette is probably the best place in Wyoming to buy real estate in.  It has been hit dam hard by the coal mines closing and cutting back.  There are lots and lots of places you could probably just take over payments on.  One big problem, there is no retail market as so many folks are leaving.  Gillette has always been boom bust, but is heavy into the bust cycle now.  It may not fully recover.  I believe that coal is still viable, but it will never have the demand it used to have.  Even the rental market is bad there right now due to so many folks leaving and there being an over abundance of houses.  I am sure Gillette has more foreclosures than any place in Wyoming.  The good news is that there are still some good paying jobs there.  Get to work and start saving some money up.If I were moving to Wyoming to get into real estate right now I would probably pick Casper.  Prices are down a bit, but it has a pretty strong economy, it will come back.  Cheyenne is nice, but way more expensive.  You and your spouse need good jobs to be able to afford to buy real estate, and to build up a nest egg.  There are good deals out there.  The places with the slowest economies will be cheapest, the ones with booming economies will be the most expensive and least likely to find a deal in.  I have bought 2 houses this year for $35K each.  They were obviously in pretty bad shape.  I mowed the yard, fixed water and sewer lines, put a new roof on one, hauled countless loads of junk off, put some paint on, and was able to sell one for a $10K profit after only 2 months.  I worked a day job during that time.  It can be done.  Build up a nest egg of savings.  Watch the local facebook sale pages for deals.  Watch craigslist, and even the newspaper for sale by owner adds.  Some one will be behind on their payments and want a few thousand to move to a new place.  The first $35K deal I paid the guy about $7K cash over what the mortgage was.  There was only $27K left on the mortgage but he was about 5 payments behind, I caught them up.  I did the work, and I sold it.  Every penny of that profit went back into another real estate deal.  Start learning the market, start calling folks selling their own houses.  Even if you don't buy it, you can practice asking questions on how much are you behind, how much is left on the mortgage, why do you want to sale it, etc.  Learn to empathize with them, yes, the mine closing was horrible, etc.  Good luck.