You will never get that back in terms of additional cash flow

Congratulations and I wish you a ton of success for you and your little one.

Be mindful of the harsh winters and short construction seasons, which can affect project timing.

I’d love to hear your experiences, opinions, and any tips you might have for successfully implementing these strategies.

If I understand correctly; the seller would receive 80% ($40,000) directly from the mortgagee at closing and would enter into a personal agreement with me for the 20% down payment ($10,000) in which he would be reimbursed separately from my mortgage payments at a separately agreed upon rate and term?

Any advice is welcome.In my opinion, if you can go conventional, most of the time it is a better choice due to the better interest rate and terms.

I like this idea because it reduces the potential vacancy I could have by doing a short 3- to 4-month lease that ends in April or May, then starting over with a year lease.

Paul has started at least 3 separate threads in the past few days announcing to the world the success he's having with section 8 rentals and repeatedly reminds us he doesn't have a clue how to calculate the true operational costs associated with these properties. 

I'm looking to keep this long term (35 years).

REI is a long-term venture; if you cannot hold this will be a very difficult process.