(Insert some sincere rapport-building compliments or questions here - about their yard or dog or whatever.)  

Quote from @Devin James: Im currently learning this lesson with New Builds that have taken twice as long to complete than anticipated.....Finishing a Real Estate project ASAP is critical because...1) Holding Costs add up quickly- Loan Interest- Property Taxes- Insurance2) Investor Capital- Our financial projections are dependent on how fast we can turn our investors capital.

To invest out of state successfully, focus on building a strong local team (agent, PM, contractors), automating deal analysis, and using contingencies to protect yourself.

By purchasing a multi-unit property, living in one unit, and renting out the others, you can cover your mortgage payments and start building equity while gaining rental income.

Stack cash & build credit. 

Educate yourself with books, podcasts, and market research, define your goals, and build a team of professionals to support your journey.

For those of you who are starting out and want to learn more about real estate depreciation and cost segregation! Cost segregation can be a complicated topic, but I tried to make it simple and easy to understand!
Her...

and that was owner occ.. todays rates are pretty normal actually. what you can do if you want though is find a really good HML and let them place a loan for you making 10 to 12% while your wait for things to change to a situation that you feel you want to move forward be more net return than buying a rental thats for sure. of course no tax bene's but there really is not that much tax benefit on one rental.. so just some alternatives. 

Have they started building yet? 

But the IRS has said that it is not appropriate to purchase from a related party when the purchase is an attempt to avoid tax.