Many lenders frown on this or prohibit it altogether. 2) In the first several years of a loan, most of the monthly payment goes towards interest and very little towards paying down principal/building equity.

Another advantage of higher priced homes, is the power of leverage and the tenant paying off a higher amount of principal payments each month which increases your equity at much higher rates than for cheap homes

which clearly demonstrates we have had the ability to construct much more energy efficient buildings for a generation, but due to inertia and low energy costs have lacked the political and economic will to put it into practice.While I am a big proponent of the Passivhaus principals and the EnerPHit guidelines for retrofit of older buildings - I'm presently working towards my Passivhaus certification - there is some evidence that the target of 15 kWh/m^2 per year, while cost effectively obtainable in most of Europe is not so in parts of Canada - due to our harsher climate.  

They had it for 1.5 years and then sold it to HUD for the amount of the principal owed.

I would guess that the fund is targeting distressed notes of some kind and therefore is discounting the principal of the notes it targets as investments to deliver back a higher return than market interest.  

Assumptions $8,106.00 Take Home Pay Income http://www.taxformcalculator.com/tax/150000.html ($2,611.60) Student Loan 230k, 10 yr amort, 6.5% ($150.00) Minimum Monthly CC Payment I have no idea how to calculate this, so I put this number in ($648.36) Principal & Interest 140k, 30 yr amort, 3.75% ($187.50) Taxes & Insurance 1.5% of 150k house ($179.69) Car payment 10k, 5 yr amort, 3% $4,328.85 Total After Leverage   ($2,828.85) Monthly Spending Even after $1k groceries, $200 gas, $200 cable+phone?

Yes there would be principal pay down etc.

Occupancy, Preservation, Maintenance and Protection of the Property:Borrower shall occupy, establish, and use the Property as Borrower's principal residence within sixty days after the execution of this Security Instrument (or within sixty days of a later sale or transfer of the Property) and shall continue to occupy the Property as Borrower's principal residence for at least one year after the date of occupancy, unless Lender determines that requirement will cause undue hardship for Borrower, or unless extenuating circumstances exist which are beyond Borrower's control.

The current balance is simply the original borrowed principal, less the principal portions of the payments made to date.  

My silly way of remembering costs is the acronym MICE TRIP V (Management, Insurance, Capital Expenses, Taxes, Repairs, Interest, Principal, Vacancy).