I actually read one of your posts on this topic years ago, which influenced me to carefully choose the right market.  

I get bombarded with inquiries and have lots to choose from.

The host can exert too much time to collect or they can choose to not collect and pay the expense.  

Even if my cash flow is negative while I live there, I will still be enjoying all the long-term benefits of owning real estate and my living costs will be cheaper than renting if I choose the right deal/property.I appreciate the insight!

State your legal theory if you choose to take an adversarial position.

In a rapidly-rising interest rate environment (such as we've recently experienced) that tradeoff may or may not pay off.Unfortunately, in CRE finance there is no perfect financing vehicle and you can't eliminate risk--you must choose which risk you want.

I’d recommend looking into this in conjunction with whatever other program you choose.

You do run a "risk" of being outbid at REO sale and "losing" the property, but given that may happen, the "total debt" is your security as you may bid up to that amount where it makes sense, but you may also be able to cash out for a healthy profit at sale if you so choose.

This was my first property, and while it's been a great learning experience, I made several mistakes along the way—ranging from choosing a realtor who was more focused on closing the deal than finding the right house to having a poor inspection and overlooking issues hidden beneath the surface (literally).

Many of our investors choose areas that have low land cost and steady population growth.