Those are the two major players when trying to make an apples to apples comparison of debt vs no debt.A better question for what you are looking for would be: will an all cash purchase or a leveraged purchase yield a larger return?

However he is a pro basketball player in Europe, which potentially makes proving his income a bit tricky, as he gets paid in Euro etc.How do we best find funding?

These loans are not impossible to get but your big, nationwide players aren't interested. 

So do the players in this market have any idea?

Treat the information as talking points (I even have had Realtors and builders try and by the info from me) until you identify all the players on your team (I mean a builder, agent or others you may want to work with).

Victor who runs it is a very interesting and intelligent person and the group there is mostly experienced players. good luck.

Hey @Dan Madden pretty cool having a pro Tennis player around.

IE I am getting paid off so I see who the lenders are.. also some other players coming in areLima OneLendingoneand then you have regional community banks.. although in my experience with them.. is PG and full recourse is the norm.. or as @Mike Makkar  you have significant assets or liquidity in a company that they can tag.

I am strongly considering starting my career as a mortgage consultant to learn applicable skills that will teach me about that part of the real estate investing industry while building relationships with many key players that will help with my business.

I would only recommend doing it on a fixer upper where the players have cash and waive appraisals, etc.