And, no, there really isn't a way you can buy it and leave his mortgage in place without a subject-to deal.As long as you are not afraid of being scoffed at, you can tell him, look, I'd normally want to buy this at $100K (I have to resist scoffing at you myself) but I know this is rehabbed and ready to go. 

If there's resistance after my real world talk, they usually filter themselves out when they realize we run a pretty tight ship and stick to our rules. 

But the vast majority of the sons of rich men are unable to resist the temptations to which wealth subjects them, and sink to unworthy lives.

Other option is to hire a lawyer to lobby for you, but that will be an expense, and the path of least resistance is to gain favor with the neighbor and council person.

that's a lot of bread to get the leads.. so you need tons of seed capital.those that have little to no marketing money to start .. pretty tough unless you bag a deal right out of the gate to keep you going.its the same for real estate agents getting started in that industry.. when  I had my shops and interviewed new licensed agents it was something we talked about.. you need ONE years of living expenses in the bank to even think about starting in this business.. same with wholesaling.. to try to do it with no money while it can be done .. flame out is virtually assured because of lack of capital in your small business. 

What I mainly take issue with (okay, that sounds harsh) is that a lot of people are saying nothing in the economy is showing signs of going down in a ball of flames so we have time yet. 

CBS is stronger/ more resistant to hurricanes2.

I had rekindled my desire to pursue real estate this year and BP has fanned that flame...Im married to an awesome woman and have 4 beautiful children all of which present me with motivation to make some things happen.

This topic is worthy of a book, but I'll limit my best advice to three points:Get Yourself a great Chief-of-Staff Before You Consider Adding More Staff - Yes, you can probably hire VA's to perform nearly every task you now do, but resist the initial urge to bring on a gaggle of specialists.

I am a single-family investor,Not by choice but that was the path of least resistance when I first started.