Lately I've been tempted to flip but I keep reminding myself that steady cashflow in a strong market will ensure a comfortable retirement and will help put the kids through college" haha

Keep pushing, stay creative with that financing, and you’ll be hitting those 2030 goals in no time!

I personally wasn’t comfortable handing over the management of the claim process to someone else.

In this case, since you're denying based on your own research (court records), this may not apply, but it’s good to stay familiar with these rules.4.

The brokers, more interested in doing a deal, would normally tell me to cross out what I didn’t like and write in whatever made me comfortable.

Feel free to comment on this form or DM me if that's more comfortable for you.

PP stays the same, Payment stays the same, Seller keeps tax benefits, and you can structure ammortization within the payment schedule.There are a bunch of older guys in Tampa that teach this kind of structuring.

But, if you're planning on staying in it for a few years I wouldn't worry about the cash flow aspect as much at this point.

With some of your concerns I'm wondering if they are a good fit for you and if you're feeling comfortable, or if self-managing would be a better option. 

Some lenders can go up to 85% on purchases and 80% on cash-outs but most tend to stay with the initial LTV's.