I know that off market deals are my best bet but am hoping that someone can enlighten me on strategies for finding the deals and the process of buying a property without an agent like a step by step checklist of everything that I would need to do.

@Brad B.Please enlighten me about the "a little education and networking" you mentioned. 

I'm not arguing, I'm asking for you to enlighten me.Originally posted by @J Scott:One thing to think about in your lending business:  You might want to consider starting to lend on more buy-and-hold properties and lend on fewer flips. 

This should be enlightening. 

If you see the stupidest purchase in the history below right before a major recession and know how to ever prevent it, please enlighten me ( and possibly some others like me). 

I would love to hear more about the process, feel free to PM me if you have any more info that could enlighten me and provide me with more knowledge!!!

@David Faulkner @Tim LindstromThanks for enlightening me on this guys.  

Can someone (with experience) please enlighten me on the real estate market in Utica, Ny??

very sobering I havent factored in the whole expense and operating budget but I have found that you should bank the first year of each unitand keep that in escrow.but the whole 50% is really new to me. but enlightening

And we won't do novations because there are heightened risks for a creditor, there, too since the borrower/investor would actually not be on title - they would have legal authority over the property but if for some reason the seller decided to sue and claim they didn't know how those transactions work, our capital could be at risk.