Could I transfer the certificate to myself. 

But then quickly transfer it out.

A tenant of mine wants to transfer from her 2 bd apt to my 3 bd house.

As long as the title transfers to me at closing and I buy subject to the existing financing, is there any reason a lender would have a problem refinancing the house and paying off the underlying loans which are in the seller's name?

I'm in the military, so we have dreams of renting this place out when I get transferred, buying a new one, and so on.In my perfect fantasy world, this method could yield me 3-4 nice single family homes by my mid 30s (in 10 yrs), a good passive income stream by my mid 40s (20 yrs), and a solid retirement foundation for 55+.I have a ton of research to do and this site looks awesome.

Someone from a post made a similar comment:http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/93343-purchase-in-my-name-then-transfer-to-llc-or-buy-with-the-llcIs this true?

Hello JohnMy understanding is that the LLC will provide you better protection from things such as law suits, etc.Many of my clients have mortgages in their personal name and then transfer title to their wholly owned LLC.

I think I've gained a ton of experience over the past year with this small rental but wasn't sure how it would transfer to larger properties, especially if a third party management company is overseeing the property.

The lender MUST approve the land contract or the accellaration clause kicks in.Second: the lender can transfer the mortage to the buyer (assume the mortage), then the seller can take a second note for any balance due the seller (if any) .Bottom line is , if the property is not free and clear at the time of a land contract, red flags everywhere.The State that I live in treats a land contract as if it is a mortgage.

You would put it in an llc and just changes the owners/managers of the llc so as not to let the bank know that the property has transferred.