They know you have money coming in and a reserve account and they will exploit weakness when they see it.Consider: you are owning real estate with many other nice folks who may or may not be employed.

Weak secondary or tertiary markets are very difficult to get even a solid project funded in.

That would put you in second position, though, that's very weak.

You need to figure out for yourself what your strengths & weaknesses are, and what your short-, medium-, and long-term goals are.3.

I am not unloading 4 deals a weak as the gurus preach, I work 2-3 houses every 3 months & I don't spam my investors email either.

My biggest weakness with getting back into REI is to stop being jaded from the experience of owning just that one place. 

In lending there are compensating factors, if a borrower is weak in one area they might make up the deficiency in another area, say you only have owner experience in 3 SFDs, but your net worth is twice the purchase price, that will probably fly if everything else is decent.You can get creative, you can use seller financing, but unless the seller is family, most all investors who own multis are not going to be walking away taking a note with 5% down or doing some contract, generally there will be some real money involved.

Hi Chungsoon, real estate investing is definitely not for those with a weak stomach and not advised unless you have at least some financial cushion.  

Investors with weak balance sheets and less than 20% down are also struggling to get new loans.

Val you do not have to be a REALTOR to hold a broker or agent license.At least not in my state.A REALTOR is belonging to NAR and paying yearly dues and subscribing to their code of ethics.Just because a broker/agent does not belong to NAR doesn't mean they do not have Ethics.As far as it being a short sale that is another correction.Most asset managers on a short sale if you are double ending they try to cut you to 4% and you end up at 5%.If I get 5% but you want me to give you 2% back I am representing you for FREE.There are people out there who think brokers/agents are not worth what they get paid.I don't give those people the time of day.The reason is I have a network of clients that pay me great money, a lot of money to reach their goals.I don't work with people who will fight me every step of the way.If you are landing a great deal you shouldn't care what the broker/agent makes period.I have brokers/agents that are buyers that tell me on my commercial deals to keep ALL the commission.They are getting such a great deal they want to be at the top of my list when I get more apartment buildings,retail,etc.They see the bigger picture.If you treat a broker/agent right they will feed you the great deals.I want someone who is not a hassle,pleasant to do business with,and keeps their word and follows through and closes the deal.Negotiations are tough but can be completed in a professional manner.Investors don't have to be nasty to get a deal done.I work with many investors who drive hard bargains but are very professional through the whole process.They are fair but tough and easy to work with.My father who has passed away showed me how you "get more with honey than you do with vinegar".Of course there is a time to not be nice but not upfront.I tell people do not EVER mistake my kindness for weakness or you will be in for a surprise.I have over 1,000 investors in my database looking for deals calling me saying "do you have anymore commercial property??".