Sandwich lease options are my fav way to acquire properties with little to no money down. 

You can just approach the seller (or their agent) as a private party and make an offer, either 3% lower or whatever you think will make the deal work for both parties.....Now if you want to acquire some RE knowledge, I suppose it couldn't hurt to have a license....and it will give you a small amount of credibility (not much, it is not hard to get a license)I think you can gain the knowledge just as easily by just starting to buy and sell properties...... 

Sourcing and acquiring a sub-to-deal is a full-time gig and challenging to implement in this market.

No new real estate has been acquired in 10+ years.

They're making a respectable market and trying to acquire the property at the lowest price they can, within reason.

Bank Statement program will be best to acquire the property and just refinance to better terms when your financial scenario changes .

I don't know about you, but in 30 years I'd rather be sitting on a million-dollar asset that I own free and clear (because someone else paid it off for me) that is generating multiple, multiple times the rent I was collecting when I first acquired it and in which I can fill a vacancy with a qualified tenant within two weeks because the area is so desirable that it can't keep up with housing demand than on some boondocks asset that I only purchased because it was the cheapest thing around and "cash flowed" $200 per month on paper but barely appreciated over the years and whose rent appreciation has marginally kept up with inflation and takes me three months to fill a vacancy with a "qualified" tenant who even then might get behind on rent because his hours were cut at the gas station 30 miles away (true story; my tenant worked at a gas station in Boron--only job he could find).Personally, I'm keeping my 4-unit in Santa Clarita and investing in development deals and notes until an incredible off-market deal lands in my lap (keep dreaming, Logan) or the SoCal market cools.  

From my research, this budget appears to be insufficient for acquiring most MHPs currently on the market.

@Lisa@Lisa Marie Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like you have a basic understanding of cost segregation and accelerated depreciation benefits or how to use this tax strategy effectively to acquire more real estate/ STRs and build wealth over time.

Right now we are in the process of acquiring land to build a childcare center with a duplex on the property as a rental.