I have worked for lenders, I've brokered, and I have worked with real and true private money and even closed loans funded by a hedge fund of a syndicate of investors.  

The fact they're paying you at all is a minor miracle.

Bird dogging is a way to make money but its not gonna get you rich.WE have had many do some birddogging for us on the private lending side to find qualified people that need a loan and its interesting how many last a few weeks - I sense the same holds true for real estate bird dogs.

Very true Drew!

This may or may not be true, but either way it sounds like your best move may be a court ordered payment plan.

We want to make the jump to our first true multi fam property 20+ units.

In the end, if the former is true, then lenders will value it as land with improvements.

Perhaps it has something to do with the statistical average where in Australia, if you are borrowing 75% on property in the cities or suburbs, it is almost impossible to get positive cash flow ANYWHERE, whereas BP subscribers are aware that in MANY parts of the USA, the opposite is true.

While it is true that the time of year can influence market activity, as others have mentioned, there is usually a trade-off depending on the season.

All too true!