It has been an eye opening experience with many wrong turns.

(It's actually a property that I've eyed for a couple years, just daydreaming, & reached out to the owner llc during that time but never heard back). tl;dr My idea so far to purchase would be a short term 12-16 month hard money loan, 80% purchase w/ 100% renovation, with private money coming in to fund the 20% & points, refi'ing into a conventional note with my local lender who I have a decent relationship with when the first note balloons. 

@Gaston Barua-You would be better served if you had an experienced individual, hold your hand through the underwriting process of scrutinizing a deal with a careful eye ( and with some good software), as no two deals you encounter will be the same.Books are wonderful, only to a certain extent.  

Eyes are now on your progress.

If you'd like a second set of eyes for your numbers and an honest opinion on the deal, you're more than welcome to shoot me a PM with more info. 

@Brendan McElhaney  You have the right attitude, you have to keep your eye on the ball and stay motivated to succeed. 

I'll keep an eye out for any deals for you on multi-family.Melissa

I'm thinking about rental investment in Tampa area and especially keeping an eye on Pasco county.

I realize that is an expensive proposition here in Puget Sound, so I'm gravitating towards starting with flipping lower end properties in Snohomish and Pierce Counties while keeping eye out for buy and hold opportunities. 

It is also a capital intensive process, but a condo conversion is usually the highest and best use of the property.One thing you really need to keep an eye on is to make sure the properties are renovated to the quality that will bring in conventional loan buyers or all cash buyers.