Re "apply for the mortgage together": as a beginner, you are confusing terminology a bit here, so let's break it down into the various parts.People apply for a "loan secured by real estate", and refer to that as "applying for a mortgage", but that is not following the strictest definitions of the terms.A "loan secured by real estate" consists of two components: a promissory note, and a security instrument that pledges the real estate as collateral to secure the loan.

I notice you're an audio engineer Dave Visaya music is my secondary passion!

I stammered and said to the broker, it was a sure fire thing, mortgage backed, how could I lose money on it.I turns out the market value, not face value, of fixed rate instruments is dependent on interest rate.

With my current level of knowledge and comfort I'd feel better going at this with someone more experienced in the driver seat while i sat in on the deal to use it as an education instrument.

I prefer Texas as I have my Audioprosthologist license (hearing instrument specialist) license there.I'm also considering multifamily options such as 2, 3, 4-plexes etc.We owned a small property in California 12 years ago with several little bungelow type dwellings on it.  

You may be looking at some tax roll summary that only has the first instrument recorded when title changed hands to its current owner.My guess is that there is a single mortgage on the property from 2011 for $251,300 that was sold twice in the secondary market.Without seeing the full abstract, you can't know for sure.

They continue to play the TVs and music exceptionally loud and do not care that tenants and I have let them know multiple times it is not acceptable.

Fraud, forgery, undiscovered heirs... don't be the one without a chair when the music stops.

The Land Trust is a terrific instrument- if only title insurers would participate.

It would actually fall under the more beneficial rules of sec 121 and if you've lived in the house for 2 out of the previous 5 year period then you can sell and take the first 250K (500K if married) in profit tax free.If you are truly talking about a debt instrument on an investment property and it is attached to the property in a mortgage then when you sell the property it would be paid off as a recorded lien against the property.