We accepted and closed using an FHA loan with 3.5% down.

Certain lenders can accept higher than 50%, and may be able to execute even with an exception. 

In this instance what I would do is get the deed in lieu from the borrower so you ahve the property again and get a note from them but have an attorney draft it to see if you can include a confession of judgment - meaning if they do not pay then you can get a quick judgment and possibly garnish wages.I would also have them put a small down payment as part of the note and only accept a check that way if you ever did garnish you have a copy of a check so you know where they bank.unfortunately you are right they can stop paying on the note and its unsecured so its a risk but out of all the options this is your best option. 

I’ll accept two payments.

I understand that a lot of units in ATL are now accepting section 8, so newer, nicer properties are taking the tenants.Possible strategies:-Just lower the rents to the lowest price I can find for a 4BR in Atlanta -- probably around $1200 or $1300, and get a market tenant in there.

If money in the pocket is not really the interest, then 100% seller financing may be acceptable to Seller; but maybe not if Seller wants money in the pocket.

I have learned more during tough times or my own mistakes and learned to accept those as a learning lesson and move on!

Here's what we require to do a Payment Plan:1) Tenant MUST put in writing specific payment dates & amounts2) Tenant MUST provide us acceptable proof of income to support Payment Plan3) We put their proposed payments into a spreadsheet that includes their current past due balance and future rent payments--- Many tenants only focus on their past due balance and forget about future payments!

The seller received multiple offers and agreed to accept mine—on the condition that I waive the appraisal contingency.The biggest concern was the lack of strong comparable sales in the area.

From my perspective, I have a timeline of six months that I would like to accomplish this so the turnaround it's pretty short making a HELOC acceptable.