A number years ago, I went to town buying a bunch of rentals in a short period of time and I can assure you they took money from my family instead of putting money in my family pocket.

In a very short time you will be able to see a very nice prportfolio building.Best of luck on your road ahead.

What are your short term goals?

I wanted to help them out and minimize their loss and saw an opportunity to get a property slightly below market because of my commission savings, immediate mortgage and maintenance relief, in addition to keeping a lower short term interest rate How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

their max quote period is 30 days so seems the quote was from Jan 13.It is not cheap, but the risk it high. 

They can include foreclosures, short sales, or properties owned by motivated sellers.

.+  Cash out refi on those after seasoning period.+  Buy more, repeat.

I wanted to help them out and minimize their loss and saw an opportunity to get a property slightly below market because of my commission savings, immediate mortgage and maintenance relief, in addition to keeping a lower short term interest rate How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Strategy 1: buy a duplex, live in one unit (for one year as a "primary residence) and rent out another unit as a short-term / mid-term rental on Airbnb.

Additionally, the Villages are close by and with an aging population it attracts a lot of healthcare field workers.Now, with a lot of rental properties you may run into slightly longer vacancy periods if you have a unit turn at the same time as others, but generally speaking renter demand is solid.