The man selling said he knows he will lose money on the deal as the property already appraised for $560,000 but would love to get a young investor like myself into the game since his son did not end up sticking with it.

But my understanding is that it's a numbers game.

It's good to hear that you want to play the long-term hold game as that is how you'll ultimately build equity.  

And I generally require a sponsor that has full real estate cycle experience with little to no money lost, low leverage, high skin in the game and reasonable fees and promotes.However, other investors will look at these deals as bad/too boring for them because they are more aggressive and not concerned about the risks of default, refinance, interest rates changing etc.

A prominent MLO in the northeast was recently charged and stripped of his license for playing this game with his borrowers.Also, everything is reviewed by underwriting.

U can have zero experience and just need a few bucks and a  good credit score and you can buy a home to live in or a rental.. but not development deals.. different ball game

In this case, he gave us ample notice to (most likely) fill that slot, however, I'd like to protect us in the future.

I'm fairly new to the real estate game and currently have 2 properties; 4 bed 2 1/2 bath renters have been in there going on their 5th year, and a new 3 bed 2 bath we're looking into using for a midterm.I work as a radiology manager for Methodist and been with them going on 10 years.

I am looking to get into the real estate game early and learn as much as possible, especially about house hacking and possibly short-term rentals.

You can utilize hard money for a BRRR or flip to get into the game.