To qualify for a loan, focus on having a credit score of at least 620 (or 580 for FHA loans), keeping your total monthly debt under 43% of your income, and saving enough for a down payment and closing costs—about 5-10% of the home's price in total.

I remember going to a mortgage closing on a personal home decades ago and the closing agent pushed the 3 inch stack of papers over for signing and said:"This all says...

Hey, Jaycee, I've only been running it for a couple of months now since I closed but it's been doing about $6000/month in gross rents so far, this month will very likely be closer to $4500-ish since it's by far the worst month of the year for rentals in that area. 

From watching the market and myself investing in Bryan/College Station, people are still renting out these properties nicely.They can be leased as a whole or rented by the room and are usually in great areas, close to the university, grocery stores, and restaurants.

My humble advice to anyone attempting to do creative finance is:Creative finance is for experienced investors who have access to capital if anything goes wrong.Learn the lawsDon't use a contract "off the internet", laws vary by state and are also regulated on a federal levelLearn the financing techniques correctlyDon’t skip parts of the processDon’t ever do a “kitchen table” closingUse the proper deedAn attorney can help you with the legal work, but the rest you are on your ownYour guru will not bail you out“Investing” in someone else’s deal by providing a small 2nd loan so the “investor” can pay for “cash to the seller” and for “closing costs” so he can do the deal is a very bad planKnow what problems can ariseLearn the responses and solutions to problems before they are neededKnow everything there is to know about Title and what that meansKnow who a "protected class" individual isLearn the "back doors"Learn human natureUnderstand timelinesUnderstand regulation enforcement (some of these "mistakes" have a 10 year statue of limitations ( they can charge you 10 years AFTER you do the transaction) and carry hefty fines and possible imprisonmentThe court doesn't accept "I didn't know" for an answer"Know that the source of the lead plays a serious role in some states and federallyKnow how much of a "profit" pushes the boundaries to invite an investigationYou can be sued by the seller if you don’t do things correctlyYou are automatically at fault if an investigator or attorney or regulator gets involved.

If you have the cash to purchase and close, then you will not need to use assignments.

it was an interesting process but basically, the novation allowed us to get the deal done without having to involve the banks. this was a huge motivation. that way I save on having to close twice. 

A purchase of $209k, $15k rehab, and ARV of $240k doesn't get you any thing back after you factor in all of the closing costs to purchase and to refinance.

I don't personally own any properties leased to housing choice voucher recipients but heard from others who are having trouble leasing their properties.

Quote from @John Teachout: Title work is typically done as part of the pre-closing paperwork.