Heather,
Your overall plan seems great! I'm in a similar situation. I did a few wholesale deals and then a sweet lease option all in hopes of saving up for the big down payment. Gathered my cash & went looking for a 'smart' investment. In my search I found an investor that was super easy to talk to and found out he was dumping his portfolio of 5 properties to move to a different state for his full time job. While talking with him I brought up the idea of seller financing.. His eyes lit up! I've never done such a deal before and thought I was in over my head. Brought the idea to my lawyer and he said, "no sweat!" The whole process was so much easier than dealing with the banks, underwriters, etc. I don't think I can ever purchase with conventional financing again. Plus, we were able to do the deal with about 7.5% down and 4% interest. Now I'm looking into private lenders for similar deals. So, my suggestion to you would be, tweek your short term focus but keep your long term goal. Forget about banks with their 20% down BS. Stay off the MLS, call every 'for rent' number you see on houses. If you get creative, you will find the deals! ;)
