@Scott GorhamSome of the strategies for buying a property if the original mortgage stays in the seller's name would be subject-to or a wraparound mortgage.

I had to fund well beyond the original note to get the project done.

Originally posted by @Dan Borecki: Thanks @Gerald K.

I am originally from CA and now have a huge circle of folks like yourself that have investments here in Dayton Ohio and surrounding areas because the returns, low taxes, solid rent, and landlord friendly state makes a ton of sense.

Getting back to the original post, what would be a strategy you'd explore given his circumstances?  

An 8% protected preferred return or a 10-12% target return. 3) Our passive note platform (Swell.investments) has yield from 8-20%. these are loans we have already originated and are available right now and we are happy to keep vs. matchmaking or crowdfunding where you only get to invest if the marketplace collects enough investor dollars or the matchmaker has a deal ready to fund (what you call whole trust deed investing).

I am from that area originally and even manage one in Ventnor and one in Tuckerton/LBI. 

Quote from @Rong Tang Tan: still waiting for mine to start...we got the permit but our builder is requesting an escalation so ended up swapping builder now w similar original cost and hope to start in a month or two... 

One of my original mentors was PRO lease option on the purchase side, however I never felt  peace about it.I was always concerned what if something happened to the original seller and they did not cooperate when it came time to exercise the option. 

Can I purchase the rods and charge back to tenant as missing/damaged window treatments when originals were blinds?