lease optionAn alternative financing option that allows home buyers to lease a home with an option to buy.

I'm writing today to see if anyone in the space has any alternate ideas for how I could be treating my portfolio.  

Flipping is a great alternative and very popular; but I am not handy.

I think it's ok to think that it's an awful heinous crime, and still rent to them if it's an appropriate place (no kids, schools, parks, etc.)Kicking him out and having him move a block away doesn't necessarily make anyone safer, or mean that you do or don't care about kids.  

Alternatively, sell this place and roll the cash in to a true investment property.One thing to keep in mind is by moving out, you may be opening yourself to risks.

I was looking for some alternative options outside of conventional financing with 15 to 20% down.

I'm looking at a multi-family property and one of the closing conditions for the bank to approve the loan is an environmental form that they want the seller to fill out.The seller says that he would open himself to liability if he filled the form out and hence doesn't want to fill it out.The seller and his agent are very difficult to deal with (rude, abrupt, and generally uncooperative) and the only reason I'm pursuing it is because the numbers look good and it's a strong property.The bank says the only alternative to the form being filled out is to have an expensive Phase I environmental assessment done.Are there any other alternatives to this?

It allows you to diversify into a portfolio of homes as opposed to putting all of your proverbial eggs in one basket.Be cautious tho as over the years I have witnessed countless investors buying properties in crappy areas, for more than they are worth and being passed on to crappy property management that nickel and dimes them to death (I guess all of those 15% "awesome" paper cap rates and promises of financial freedom aren't that awesome after all...)This is not just true for real estate deals but life in general (Your "piece of paper" degree does't necessarily dictate success in your chosen profession or your business)Real life experience is different to what any "piece of paper" says.In all reality guys it takes time to build financial freedom, and the more you can diversify your risk across multiple properties in your portfolio the less risk you bear in the long run.I may not be the smartest Aussie you have ever met, however I do understand a few basic rules that I follow on every acquisition I make.Strength in numbers, cash only, patience, and discipline.Let's talk about Strength first.Price point plays a big part of "strength in numbers" as it is safer to acquire 5 homes for a total of $350,000 as opposed to one for $350,000.What happens if "that one" property goes untenanted for 5 months?

I know listsource.com is a popular one, is there any alternatives out there people tend to use and have success with?

That post is a little tough to read, let's try this: CLICK image to enlarge But, real estate is far safer than the Stock Market for the average investor and real estate has far more benefits for the average investor.