It's safe to bet on 20% of the loan, plus 25% of the rehab costs, plus money for holding the property.

I'm really curious how others relying on this strategy hedge their bets to decrease their exposure.

Your best bet would be to learn through Youtube.

Your best bet in the greater Phoenix market will be a four unit property, because it's tough to make the 2 and 3 unit properties cash flow with 25% down.

@Russell Holmes, every deal is different and with each one you learn more and more so don't bet yourself up.  

These are things like:  talking to people,  getting over the fear of the phone, hard work , taking risks and betting it all, handling failure and rejection, perseverance, and picking yourself up off the floor, dusting yourself off and doing it all over again.

I'm willing to bet top dollar that college education would be a better bang for your buck than a self-study seminar peddled by someone selling you real estate "snake oil".

Your best bet may be to find a local credit union as they tend to have more flexible terms and higher LTV's than traditional big box banks.

I bet if you were to contact previous landlords, preferably ones before the present one, they would have some stories to tell you.

It may work but I wouldn't bet my paycheck on it.