Maybe their guess at what the market value is is actually what the market value could potentially be if someone (the next owner) does the hard work of getting the rents up to that value.

Those are great areas with solid potential.

@James Wise gonna have to disagree with the "lie cheat steal" concept regarding residents.Any resident has the potential to be less than desirable.

Smart investors first focus on finding quality properties—such as those in thriving areas of Brooklyn or potential neighborhoods around Manhattan—and then reverse engineer the process by improving management, optimizing rental structures, or enhancing facilities to make it worthwhile.

Ideally, I’d be buying and selling and potentially managing properties as a job, and be working the gardens and hobby farming, potentially attending farmers markets on weekends (we both love to create things).

A good team on the ground should be able to help you avoid all of these potential pitfalls. 

We have three potential options.The first option is for me to completely owner-finance his purchase.

When I'm looking at potential opportunity, price isn't that big of a factor.

Property Valuation:Investors look at a variety of factors to determine a property’s value, including comparable sales (comps), rental income potential, and location.

A potential challenge with a HELOCs is they are based on the current appraised value of your home, not the improved value, so you would need to make sure you have enough accessible equity.