I ultimately obtained a variance to build 12 townhomes and 18 condos reliant on my hardship case and by agreeing to take responsibility for replacing the retaining wall in a re-designed terrace approach that stepped the wall back from the most immediate neighbors which was a rounding error once applied to the overall project budget.

I see (and endorse) the analytical, structure-side of what you are saying, and ultimately, like I said before, I appreciate your post.

The ideal home price for you will depend on: 1) downpayment size 2) risk appetite, 3) preference for more cash flow or appreciation.Given our price points, our investors need to have 35-45K to start, on average.The typical cash-on-cash return on our properties net of loan payments, insurance, taxes, and property management fees is 6-8%.Ultimately, you can obtain financing from any lender, although we have partner lenders that can provide very competitive rates.

Regards,HectorHector,you'll get some value out of reading The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods.

It's ultimately up to you.

So, essentially the money from the ultimate buyer can NOT be used by the intermediate buyer to close on their purchase since that would be using money from a purchase that can not occur until the prior purchase has been completed.  

And that there have been plenty That have simply defaulted and imploded.On the other hand, ( at least so far) conservatively structured deals are doing what they were designed to do, which is to survive a downturn without having to do any of the above.

Having intentionality in your actions and goals set to enable you to reach that 1 real estate transaction milestone is important and will ultimately help you reach that sooner. 

Seller is an investor who sells dozens of properties each year (some of them via fsbo) but ultimately give in and choose to let you list b/c they’re having trouble offloading this particular property OR want to spend their time on something else.

For a while I looked into medium size deals like 30-50 units in class B neighborhoods, but ultimately could not negotiate a deal to the point where it would have made financial sense.