There is an advantage to using private or hard money for your deals in that your chances of actually being approved are far greater in the private world and the time to close is dramatically shorter.

The house that i do own at the top of the 404 has jumped dramatically in the last few years but so has the GTA. 

Everything indicates that he is correct.Best of luck and look, for example, at Howell Court. 28 units in what was a bad part of town but is changing dramatically because of a new baseball stadium and other development going on over there.

If it is present and you are required to remove it, your numbers could change dramatically.  

That dramatically cuts down your available buyer pool if you ever need to sell the property in the next couple years. 

15 years on a lease option seems long, but as long as your monthly payment is dramatically chipping away at the owed principal, might not be a bad way to start with no-low money down. 

@James Nix I'm glad she paid, but the fact that she struggled to get the money for rent, isn't a good sign unless she's prone to being overly dramatic. 

Each of these variables will dramatically change the advice I give the individual asking me this question.

You may want immediate cash flow to lower your immediate cost of living.You may want to build a portfolio to add to your retirement later in life.Or you may want to speculate and purchase properties in areas that you think are poised for dramatic growth in the future which will return huge equity gains.

I used to rely on foreclosures when I first started out but have backed off of that dramatically.