When its included in a lease for real estate then the laws pertaining to residential rental security deposits in your state apply but when its separate you should have more leeway to get some additional deposit to protect you.

Thanks for spotting that additional "real property" question. 

Memphis has a pretty affordable housing market and tends to offer solid rental yields, which might align well with your goals.Let me know if you need any more info or want to chat further about this.

Finding the correct contact info is hard enough, but if your pitch is that they should sell cheap now, you're misreading the market.Multifamily properties are worth significantly less now than they were just a few years ago, and asking for a further discount due to property condition would probably result in a loss, maybe not even pay off the debt.

Cost per lead (CPL) is crucial—it shows how much you're paying to get a potential seller or buyer’s info, and you want this as low as possible without sacrificing quality.

Would be great to reconfigure the lot lines on the two additional parcels so they'd both meet the minimum to build.

They offer a $10K repair fund to fix damages in addition to SD plus warranty for appliance repair etc.I have no say in whom they choose to move in, whether there are animals, limit on # of occupants etc. they reserve right to inspect property so i have no idea if they can tell me to remodel, paint etc.does this make sense i have a vacancy coming up in October (bad rental timing).

Although he is a banker, he thinks having the ability to operate as a broker and place loans with 30+ other lenders, in addition to his bank, is the "best setup."

Your best route might be to buy a 2 to 4 unit property that you can live in and rent out the additional apartments.

Supplement this far simpler entity approach by ensuring you have appropriate types and levels of insurance, you operate your business in a manner in which your conduct is not considered an exclusion in your policy, you work with licensed and insured vendors, you execute contracts with indemnification clauses with these same vendors/ require additional insured status &  maintain appropriate licensing and permits.