the rest of the loan payment right now is coming back to you eventually. 

To maximize your investment, use financing options like FHA or conventional loans, analyze deals based on cash flow and cap rates, and network with local investors through REI meetups and BiggerPockets.Good luck!

The loan would be $1M+.

Traditional bank loans can be slow and have strict requirements, while hard money and private lending seem to offer more flexibility.For those who’ve secured funding before, what’s been your experience?

When you finance through national lenders, in your experience, is a balloon a common requirement for commercial loans of this nature or is it possible to get a fixed rate for 30 years?  

You said that you are applying for an FHA loan so it sounds as though you'd be living in one unit. 

Another way to say is that what is the value of the property (today) compared to what is owed on the loan?

I went from a 15 year loan to a 30 year loan, locked in my interest rate at 2.85%, pulled out $111K in equity, and lowed my monthly mortgage by $20 per month. 

Pretty common, you can definitely use commission as down payment conventional loans and not have it count toward IPC as long as you're on the loan. 

Instead of a traditional down payment, I would give them some money (maybe just to bring the loan back to even).The upside if taken over the loan at the current balance, with some rehab and hopefully getting the front lot back would be a nice ROI.