Right now, it's a sellers market and pickings are slim with high prices.

The chances of you purchasing the property prior to them listing it as a REO is slim to none from basically any large servicer.

We are leaning towards this option since the flip profit could be slim, and like you said if the market goes down the margin would be even smaller.

Also the likelihood of losing all your income from all your units at once on a multifamily is pretty slim but possible as we have seen with fires and flood prone areas as of late.

I'm looking to finance my first investment property, but I'm afraid chances of financing are slim as I already have a mortgage on my own home...does anyone have experience with this? 

I feel that even if I do lock down a deal in the winter the chances of finding tenants quickly are slim due to the season.

And on top of that if the numbers are so slim you can't use a contractor it might not be a good deal.

Might have some slim margins for the first few until you can rally up the cash.

Carrying costs were slim to none, as I have used all 12 month zero interest credit cards, which I'm already well on my way to clearing off.Another thing that I've learned: At these higher price points and markets in the country, one must re-examine rules of thumb like the 1% rule.

If the numbers are slim, then I would look for a more traditional investment property.