I've been looking serously since June, even got as far as a contract on an REO untll the inspection revealed an additional $10K in repairs, for which the bank was not receptive in a lower price.Basically, my vetting of properties includes taking an avg comp at 65-70% of ARV, to determine if taking a look is even worth it.  

@Seth C.IRA capital can be used to invest in real estate in the variety of ways: single family rentals, commercial, in the US and out of the country, you can invest in tax liens and deeds, you can do hard money (or private) lending out of your account to other investors, etc. etc.In order to do so you need a self-directed IRA.

Also be wary of letter of intents as they are not legally binding, specifically as there is a current tenant in place, and I'd imagine you likely will not be able to get a signed contract in place from this potential tenant.If the borrower won't reveal who the tenant is, I think that might be red flag enough to turn this down.Just a thought, in Southern California, there are a lot of tenants who are willing to do this in the marijuana industry. 

Sometimes these don't stand up for a variety of reasons.  

Porcelain/Ceramic tile has been that way, you can see it in a variety of eras of housing .  

All of this, in my opinion, will likely reveal why you're not cash flowing.So far, I haven't heard anything that indicates the PM is being nefarious; just opinions without any evidence.

For a variety of different reasons, it is expensive and cumbersome to develop in L.A. and this can be largely blamed on the fact that starting in the 1960's, much of the control over the building and planning process was delegated to individual communities.So, why isn't the state building like we used to?

It might be Monday morning coaching, but I bet a review of their application information will reveal a clue or two. 

In general, I agree with @Vinh Lethat we've got to have a variety of ways to get deals - all of them leading back to relationships with people. 

STATE REGULATORS AND PRUDENTIAL REGULATORY STANDARDS FOR NON-BANK MORTGAGE SERVICERS State regulators, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Ginnie Mae, and FHFA (through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) have all established a variety of standards that apply to non-bank mortgage servicers.