Furthermore, I had the right to purchase for cash or subject to their mortgage balance plus some cash for the remainder of purchase price at the time of closing. 

This property balances our portfolio with heavy equity gains.

Understanding this balance is crucial for a savvy investment decision.

Good balance of strong cash flow and appreciation. 19 doors and counting.......

Primary home: 2.75 APR VA / 230k balance / Equity roughly 130k Direct cash: 13kThe goal is to start flipping, but if there are other ideas to build my real estate portfolio, SHOOT!

Also, some banks I've talked to require 30% of the balance to be held in their account.

Thank you for asking for clarification - I would be financing the remaining balance.

Mainly because rentals for me are "long term slow money" and I use the chunks of cash from flips to buy and/or pay down the rental balances (increased cash flow, lower debt, etc).

Put it on an auction site starting at your loan balance?

@Samuel Metcalf- thanks   1) I would recomend getting a HELOC in place on your primary residence duplex  for  as much as  possible...this should be available for  free or a low  cost and the rate will be variable in the  8-11%  range ...prime rate +  margin of  1-3% ) ...the min payment is in interest only payment on outstanding balance   2)  use the heloc for the  remodeling  costs ...pay it down as  agressively as you can   3) on the  purchase of the investmenet  1 unit -  you are  allowed to put as little as 15%  of the price for your down payment ...the pricing you get for the loan will improve  as your down payment  grows so you might look at  75% /  80%  and  85%  ltv  options