A lease option, and agreement for deed, a sandwich lease or a land trust deed subject to the mtg.Keep in mind, the seller may not care about receiving cash and simply wants the relief of not having to worry about a payment or any repairs anymore.Also if you are dealing with the selling agent, maybe offer them the 3% payment they would receive if they were splitting the commission with a buyers agent.  

Does anyone have any thoughts on doing an assignment lease option, sandwich lease option, or seller financing as a first deal in Baltimore? 

One way around this is to do a sandwich lease option and then exercise the option after that time period has expired.

The area is also sandwiched between two of the most expensive areas of nashville.

Options: subject to, agreement for deed, lease option/sandwich lease, payout the seller's equity (either in one lump sum or if you don't have it all in payments) private money, etc.Scenario 3) is the owner in distress?

NPN seconds  are a niche that one needs to do as an advanced strategy and have scale.. sandwich lease options like your talking about are frankly fraught with danger and are guru pitchs and coachs who try to sell this stuff so they can sell their coaching.. remember you have all these folks who have small capital and what ever reason they think they should somehow put it into real estate.. when in my mind many would do far better looking to create a business that makes them some real money not just a few hundred a month on the delta while risking cash and taking on massive debt or worse buying sub too and getting a seller all twisted up because you don't have the money to execute.

Orrrrr should I try and do a sandwich lease option? 

I wanted to get this conversation started to see if any investors out there are currently sandwich leasing properties for the main purpose of subletting through Airbnb. 

"This is in and out, not a sandwich lease option." ... 

Or sandwich leasing?