Additionally, please share if this was a scam or not.

The structure also allows for mitigated tenant and maintenance risk, but it has increased dependence on market movements due to being appreciation based.

Time in the market beats timing the market!

I agree with the others here that say you need to have some skin in the game, if you are going to live there yourself, get an FHA loan rather than owner financing, you can get a 3.5% down loan, personally I do not love these as they require  PMI which is an additional expense, and you also need  bring additional funds for closing at least for taxes, title, attorney and transfer fees . borrowing from anyone else for the down payment, to include a personal loan from the bank is not a good idea, those again will be higher int. rate.

If you are buying a home to live in - I would suggest finding a good realtor in your market.

In my day job I do SEO for a digital marketing agency and I am more than happy to talk SEO with anyone who has questions.I'm interested in Long-term rentals, though admittedly, finding deals below market value and funding those deals (not to mention I honestly have no idea have to put the deals under contract in the first place), are problem the first things I'll need to learn.

Another option is to estimate value based on potential income and market cap rates, which can give you an investor’s perspective.

I pull permits for removal of load bearing walls, addition of bathrooms or bedrooms, addition of footage.

This market is huge.My only advise would be always searching for deals and running the number using the calculators the BP has.

- Find ways to provide real value: Whether it’s market insights, deal structuring ideas, or even helping investors improve cash flow, being a problem-solver makes you stand out