This puts your family’s home at risk and is unfair and irresponsible, in my view.The claim that “hard money loans for existing deals are difficult to get” is simply not true.

And if you do, you are going to possibly sacrifice the value of the tenant that you get for the price that you're getting upfront, and if you're going to lose your tenant that you currently have then you risk the vacancy, having to do a rent turn, and that would come with more maintenance, and many additional costs that you would have To encumber that would most likely far exceed that $160 extra that you were trying to raise in the first place. vacancy means no money coming in, and then your investment is dead in the water.

An existing duplex provides immediate rental income and proven market comparables, reducing risk.

If the investor is actively involved and can stay on top of materials, roll with it!

If more than 30 days go by with no booking, you are at risk of falling off the wagon. 

I think hard money lender to take this risk cannot legally charge appropriately which means the law is working against you (the law meant to protect owner occupied owners from unfair loans).I agree with @Jay Hinrichs that your best option likely is to sell on the mls.  

I’ve never done a short sale before, so I want to make sure I’m not missing anything important.For those who have bought short sales before:1️⃣ What are the biggest risks I should be aware of?

If you are skilled in each of the areas above, and you have enough in reserves to cover the costs of when things do not go as planned, then you can likely attract money from private money lenders who want to get a return on their money and they see lending to you as a low risk way of earning a better return than in the other passive investing options they have. 

Hey TylerI'd say it's important to weigh the risks and rewards when considering a house hack, especially in a market like Denver.

My question is, because my agent was involved in showing the home and made offers for us while it was listed (6 months ago) should I go through them or it is okay to pursue this as any other off market property without an agent?