The thing is he wants to sell it directly to me (FSBO) without the use of an agent to save on commissions.

As private money lenders, protecting your investment starts with careful borrower vetting.

Higher Fees and Costs: Cross collateral loans may come with additional fees, such as appraisal costs for each property involved, which can increase the overall cost of borrowing.In conclusion, while cross collateral loans can provide valuable opportunities for accessing larger amounts of financing and potential cost savings, they also come with considerable risks and complexities that borrowers must carefully consider.

Returns look good on paper but the kind of tenants those homes will attract will eliminate your cash flow.Invest carefully.

The Kindle is delayed due to Thanksgiving; the audio will be out soon.I'm on this site to learn what other Passive investors care about. 

Be careful of investing based on existing relationship.  

Break even today, cash cow in a few years type of an approach.  

They don't really care so much about facts, reality, what's good or bad, they just want a giant damn snickers to cram in there pie-hole, and to feel guilt free when there doing it.Now before ya-shake your fist in the air over the collective stupidity/insanity of it all keep in mind, these are the same kids that we all decided to raise where nobody got 1st, 2nd or 3rd place anymore, no-no-no, we said that would hurt feelings so we decided regardless of actions EVERYONE got a medal, the exact same medal. 

I bought from a primary homeowner in Indianapolis metro area who took really good care of this home (I did live in this house and rented it out when I moved back to California) and from a flipper in Indy more recently.As far as primary homeowners, they can range from taking really good care of the house to someone who has a lot of deferred maintenance - I renovated a local property that had a lot of issues.  

I am a CA RE Broker who has done loans for decades in CA.