That gives us an opportunity to meet them and do what @John Underwood said and ask if they have any outstanding maintenance issues or concerns. 

If the interest rates were the same, paying the same total amount each month, either loan would be paid off at the exact same time.....interest charged each month is purely about the total outstanding principal, at that time.

On a general thought, start by becoming an outstanding finder of deals.

But with that 156 mail to the owner, even with an outstanding 10% return rate you will only have to filter through 15 potential sellers.

These guys are outstanding storytellers and have some of the best marketing that I have ever seen. 

If there are any outstanding loans from the federal government they will have to be paid prior to ownership.

More importantly, he is always on time, his work is outstanding, and he is just around a great guy.

A simple call to the local code enforcement agency should be able to reveal any outstanding liens and fines.

Hope my fellow BP'ers can help, as I am having some issues. 1) given the property being sold as-is and after pulling OPRA report from the city it seems the property has several opened violations/penalties2) I tried speak to the city building department about how I can resolve these violation: " illegal basement apartment" and "no permits for additional unit built in the back of the house" - fines are in hundreds of thousands and have been outstanding for couple of yearsCan you please advise if anyone know anyone who can assist with getting these questions resolved ? 

Absolutely no felonies, evictions or outstanding housing debts.