It just seems that there will always be at least ONE tenant who will cost you an arm & a leg...either through damage, non-payment, eviction costs, or all of the above....

Lots of times people don't fully understand the tax code and they have nightmarish ideas of the tax man as that guy from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre showing up to chop off an arm and a leg to collect as taxes when it's really not such a horrible thing.

It has been my experience that the appraisals for re-fis are how shall we say it less generous than arms lenght purchase transactions.

I am looking for someone in arms reach to help me out.

Fixed is usually must better than ARMs; think about the buyer over 2 - 5 years: is that good for them, the ARM?

How close is the house to Tamarack Blvd and Northland Arms apartments?

I haven't heard of this before, but I recommend fulfilling all your obligations.FHA are explicitly NOT for investors, and I'm not sure if you could have a second, non-family member on title - especially with a split interest.

I also recognize that SmartMove does not do an explicit eviction search.

The only thing that I can think of what hasn't been mentioned by the others is that if I recall correctly when doing a short sale the seller of the property can't be in arms length relationship with the buyer.

The best loan would be a 20-30 yr ARM, 80-85% LTV, with an annual/life increase limit of 2%/6% (I've seen 2%/5% as well, but much less common).