Grant Cardone would tell you to only carry debt other people can pay for.

It will cost far more to carry and maintain than paying rent and in most cases will cost more than it will ever sell for but since you will always need a place to live you will likely never benefit until you are old and move to a retirement home. 

I've saved a lot of cash by doing it myself over the years, but often, at the end of the day, what I saved was less than the rent income or carrying costs I incurred.I still have rentals in Madison county (Harvest-Toney- HSV Sec. 8) so feel free to keep me posted on how your new project develops. 

I once carried my R.E. in the early ninety's , but with 4 young children and a full time job , it was hard to dedicate any time to the industry.

 If a sell/owner was to carry a loan through the sale of real estate property, can that seller take out mortgage insurance on the buyer?

I even put how the bank is losing money on this property every month the owner isn't paying, and how it's in their best interest to unload this at the price I'm offering, as well as how they can carry the loss on their P&L statement. 

Your best bet would be to find an owner that is open to seller carry.

The way you carry yourself, your knowledge, experience, confidence, and appearance all factor into each situation in different ways.

I unfortunately cannot qualify for the loan, so I'm looking for a partner to take on the $250k loan and bring $147k of equity.I'd like to structure the deal so that I have equal ownership interest with my partner, but he / she takes the majority of the cash flow, as he / she will carry the debt and bring almost all of the equity.

Seller carries note for 5 years then balloons.