I’m open to exploring those locations since they aren’t too far of a drive.I’m leaning towards a SF property because I have $10,000 to put down, want to stay within my budget, and being new to this, I’d like to start small.

We did that for about 3 years until Jeff informed me he'd fallen behind on property taxes, and all of his lenders called the loans due.

Some banks and lenders will calculate your Heloc payment based on the Max limit even if you only have a small portion used due to preventive risk. 

Owners were charged an assessment (several thousand dollars) in 2023 to put into reserves, as per the new rules after the Surfside collapse.

They will go up to 100% loan to value or LTV (or used to). 

Who here has 50 to 100 properties or more, and has built a net worth of over a million dollars in real estate and is still building? 

I would never work with them again because the small discounts just is not worth the headache.

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.

One thing you may want to consider is the possibility of hacking into a small multi like a duplex.

Small business owners are struggling more than I thought.