Sometimes swinging for the fences right away without hitting the doubles results in a strike-out.Sounds like you'd have the equity to possibly get the down-payment you needed, through a cash out refinance - however I'd make sure you are really sure about the large purchase and its efficacy given where you are.

Strike while the iron is hot, as they say.

As in baseball, when trying to hit a home run you strike out more often that get a hit.

Those are good strategies that will give you some leverage and potentially help you strike a better than average deal.At some point, you may want to consider purchasing rent default insurance to mitigate costs associated with lost rent and legal fees.Good luck!

It is so much easier to work with, and you don't "strike out" as often. 

I've scoured the MLS for about 8 wks now and found several "potentials", however I'm not finding any success yet in striking deals via this method. 

Say you don't buy that duplex, strike out this spring, what..

The lender says " Show me the specific deal, with a viable offer that is already in striking range of acceptance and we'll run it by the underwriter.

But does this money just sit in a bank account waiting for disaster to strike?

If you are really striking out on finding a good comp, you can also look at active listings on this site as well to see what your competition is.