No offense taken, @Derreck Wells .

Even if it is offensive.

(I mean no offense - I own 1,000 apartment units and been doing this since 1999 and when you're new to this, you don't know what you don't know and you should use your own money first on your first few deals before risking and possibly losing other people's money.

Find a good deal, throw out a borderline offensive offer, and hope for a counter that you can go back and forth with to make it make sense. 

@Mary Pastoral no offense, but you are making typical mistake of thinking investing means paying retail/listed prices.We did that on our first deal only, and even then we only paid 90% of the listing price.After that, we've mostly bought offmarket properties or made offers on listed properties at numbers that worked for us.

No offense to anyone in Lake City (and please correct me if I'm wrong), but it's a comparatively rural area, and, other than being at the crossroads of two major interstates, has very little going for it from an economic standpoint in terms of a rental market.

@Nate Ramos no offense... but what do you need this partner for? 

No offense, but your question is too generic to provide real assistance.

My skin's thick enough to take it - no offense taken.You've made a number of valid points, the problem is, my guess is the majority of ARM's taken out in the past were by those that shouldn't have been getting loans in the fist place.Part of the reason we're in the mess we're in today is due to bad loans, many of which were ARM's.There may be times when an ARM may be worth looking in to, but even then, there is additional risk with an ARM.

If they actually trash the property, it's a criminal offense and you can/should report it to the police.Keep a close eye on them because they may choose to abandon the property early.