We fully remodeled two of them, taking them down to the studs.

I don't want him to be my brokerage sponsor because he will want me to look at MF deals, which has extremely slowed down in the past few years.

Set clear goals, save for a down payment, and practice analyzing deals to build your confidence.

I do have reserves to cover contingencies.Let's just say, I'm satisfied with those numbers.Had I had to use a bank, I would have had to put down 20% for $33,000, plus closing and my payment on the remaining would be $1400 PITI including HOA. 

I'm headed to Portugal in July and will be there for a couple months to scout some properties.

Thanks to my attorney’s efforts, the seller has backed down and has now agreed to proceed with the sale.Congratulations, I'm glad it's working out for you. 

Until recently, I never really sat down and seriously committed myself to it, but now I'm all in, dedicated to learning everything possible before taking the plunge.

You could get most of your down payment back, or be able to pay off investors quickly.  

Please do both of us a favor, and write it down on a piece of paper and burn it.

The only interpretation of what the Federal Reserve Bank (the head bank) is saying, is that "banks credit depositor accounts and lend the deposits".