Buying a MLS listing is probably a no go ,if you find a private sell or a similar way that would be the best way to purchase a property in todays climate.

There are two sides to every transaction: private and public..

However, I got into real estate mostly relying on OPM - private lenders, seller financing, and business lines of credit.I also don’t like the idea of buying turnkey properties at a premium.

You can also do this on a refinance.Else, you can find private money, take out a HELOC if you have a lot of equity, go hard money and then refinance after, or see if your preferred builder offers financing.

I will charge a rent of $850 for the other 2 rooms and $1,100 for the basement (because it's more private with it's own bathroom).

I included stats on percent unleveraged purchases and that many of those fairly low percent cash purchases in fact use unseen leverage HML, private lending, etc and some are short term cash holds such as a flip or a brrrr that gets financed not long after purchase.  

Quote from @Michael Smythe: Besides MANY self-labeled "gurus" exaggerating their success, many of them just supply readily available info.If you're too busy to find the info and are willing to pay for it, no problem as you accept their time vs money solution.REGARDING S8 GURU ISSUES SPECIFICALLYMost of them don't share all the facts about how Section 8 actually works.They claim you can get HIGHER rent from S8 tenants vs private-paying tenants.Why would the government allow our tax dollars to be spent this way?

@Luke H.Hi Luke,  As a private money lender myself I will focus on one element of your deal---5 years is a long time to be finally paid. 

Actually the IRS does not tell us what we can invest in, only what is disallowed (life insurance contracts and collectibles).Allowable investments for SDIRA investing include the following:Residential real estate, including: apartments, single family homes, and duplexesCommercial real estate Undeveloped or raw landREITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts)Real estate notes (mortgages and deeds of trusts)Promissory notes Private limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and C corporationsTax lien certificatesOil and gas investmentsPrivate stock offerings, private placementsJudgments/structured settlementsGold bullion Factoring investments

The duplex has done well because it has a great backyard/garden area and each unit has a private deck and W/D.