But if you are an average person with a day job and trying to operate a few rentals, you may find the best person to manage this investment is the one in the mirror (you--the landlord invested in real estate)....

If all works out, I should be able to reach my goal of mirroring my retirement income coupled with providing a great foundation for my 2 boys to learn about real estate. 

I have not finance any wholesalers as they don't need me they do it with smoke and mirrors LOL... wholesalers are not going away and neither am I. !

Therefore, you will need to go through the entire process without cutting corners or getting impatient (the real enemy of dealing with seniors).Since I presume this is your first package deal, I suggest you plan on showing up with two note pads, one for each of you, and ask your seller to make notes mirroring what you write down in your well-rehearsed meeting.

Look in the mirror and ask yourself if you're truly living a life that makes you extremely happy. 

I already told them what I generally expected during the time they came out: floor replaced (faux hardwood throughout w/ new tile in bathroom & kitchen), new tub tiled all the way to ceiling, replace sink, replace mirror, new bathroom shelfing, new toilet, reface cabinets or new cabinets if cost efficient, new countertop, reframe all doors, replace baseboard, paint all rooms. 

My question somewhat mirrors the one I have and so far I have yet to find an answer.

All 3 u its are already occupied so I will be honoring the remainder of their lease however I will be drafting up a new lease which will mirror exactly their current lease but in my company name and options to pay rent.

In this case you always have money left in the deal.3)You never pay PMI (private mortgage insurance) if you refinance at 80% of appraisal or less.4)In Texas (and perhaps other states) if you refinance within a short period there is a discount (40% I believe in Texas) on the title insurance for the refinance.This actually saves more than the cost of the additional lender’s title ($100 in TX) when purchased.In my case I didn’t even purchase lender’s title when I bought the house with the friendly loan and still got the discount when I refinanced.My friendly loans are with my own money, lent to a friend with a personal loan, who relends to me with a mortgage loan.Our terms are mirror image for the personal loan and the mortgage loan.Ideally the loan includes all costs, including future repair as I want to be able to get all money back when I refinance.The ultimate refinance means you have no more than 80% or less of market value total into the property so when you refinance you have no private mortgage insurance to pay.That also matches with conventional loan standards of 80% LTV for investor purchases.There is no industry norm requiring you to wait any period of time for a “rate and term” refinance so you refinance as soon as the rehab is complete.There is no law about getting a “cash out” loan immediately.That is simply the current lending standard for most lenders.A “cash out” loan is one where you paid cash for the deal and now want to refinance to pull your cash out of the deal, hence the name “cash out loan”.Unfortunately industry norms currently require you to wait for 6 months before they will give you the cash out loan which is the reason I use my “friendly loan”.In Texas, once a cash out loan, every refinance by the same owner is also a cash out loan.In Texas, cash out loans are more restrictive than refinance loans and cash out loans do not qualify under some government sponsored finance programs available to rate/term refinance loans – another reason I prefer rate/term refinancing.I recycle legal docs (promissory note, deed, and deed of trust/mortgage) that I got from an attorney that I alter for each purchase.

Prognosticators always look right in the rear view mirror.