You need to be able to demonstrate that you understand the seller's needs based on what they tell you and then show them how your offer solves the seller's needs.Sounds like the property's condition should give you lots to talk about, but you'll need to have a grasp of the repair costs before you try to justify deducting them from the FMV to arrive at your MAO.

This is a wonderful concept to grasp prior to dive right in.

I’m looking for good books to read so I can get a stronger grasp on the business.

At any rate, the longer the balloon and longer the payment period / installment amount - the better off you will be... but it obviously has to work for them.You have a good grasp on this.

I would highly recommend reaching out to local legal counsel who specializes in this; someone who has a firm grasp of the local laws and ordinances as they pertain to tenant-landlord law, and eviction proceedings (should you choose to go that route; I always tell people to proceed with caution because evictions can have a lasting effect on both parties). 

This stuff is within my grasp, but it's really difficult.

I don't want to go too far into it until I have a better grasp on whether or not the land adjacent to me is attainable.

Once you have a firmer grasp on the income side of the equation, the next thing you need to do is plug in a decent (don't over think this for your first one) estimate of what you will have to spend to achieve those rents.

I enjoy reading posts or watching videos of people's "what I did right and what I did wrong" to try and grasp what seems to be quite common factors, and more person to person hiccups.

What I don't have a grasp on is using a VA loan to build new.