The depth worries me, if it's been happening in the same place(s) for years it can certainly be deep and hit the beams below.

I think an installment loan or HELOC would register as qualified funds as well, but you'd need to make sure opening debt won't skew DTI below requirements. 

Maybe your state does not.I know in my state in Oregon you MUST be a licensed foreclosure consultant to deal with folks in foreclosure.. now you can simply make an all cash offer to buy.. but any other type of transaction is not allowed and ESPECIALLY rent backs totally illegal.. but again state specific so that's why we have to be careful talk about these things just like wholesaling in general IE marketing a property you don't own see below a snippet of a conversation I had with a state of Oregon financial investigator for the department of real estate"The Agency is well aware that unlicensed “wholesalers” are rampant in our jurisdiction.

You can start writing off expenses below $2,500 but the property has to be put into service.Any capital expenditures below $2,500 prior to being put in service are added to basis and depreciated once the property is in service.

If your total income(wife and yours) is below $150,000 you should be able to offset some of your income from the rental loss.What is your goals with real estate(cash flow, appreciation, etc) If your goal is cash-flow - you may want to look into selling the property and acquiring others that would cash flow.Let me know if you have any other questions.

While rehabbing that property (which will cash flow approximately $300 a month when all done) I managed to get another SFR under contract using owner financing which I will be closing on this month... completely rehabbed with a tenant in place and negotiated down to 30% below market value with seller financing at 6% for 3 years...now the awesome part of this deal is that although the property won't cash flow until it is paid off.... in 3 years I will own a $75K property free and clear that will cash flow $600 a month....second unit...check.... 

Right now the property value is currently just below what we bought it for in 2008.

I had a mini-storage friend review the below with me and he essentially told me the business wasn't worth anything, that I should just offer to buy the land at market value.

Below is some of the language in the counter:"- The contract has to have as-is addendum.- No seller financing - Confirmation - buyer will be unrepresented ( no agent)- Closing costs will be split by the buyer and seller."

The pipe should have a silt sock or fabric over it with small crushed rock and gravel around it.