Don't know what your current living situation is, but this is worth looking at in terms of getting into a mortgage with a bare minimum of closing costs. 100% financing with no down payment, no private mortgage insurance, seller is allowed to pay up to 6% of your closing costs, and more.A great resource for information on VA loans is Veterans United Mortgage.

JV / equity partner - It can be a good thing, but if the deal is good, this is usually the most expensive in terms of piece of pie shared.  

While a FSBO seller might be open to seller financing, in general they tend to be above market in terms of pricing. 

And typically we use YTD (2015 earnings) to support, but the average is a 2013 + 2014 / 24 months in terms of your qualifying income because YTD can get skewed by seasonality or a big commission paid year-beginning. 

So depending on value and what title wants/needs, it may not be as complicated as a full blown probate.That being said, it's the same in TX and CA in terms of submitting a purchase agreement to  the title company.  

It's a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom property and can rent for about $1100.In terms of financing I am putting 25% down with interest rate of 4.75% with total including closing costs coming to around $18,000. 

This way, I can start to notice good deals when they pop up in terms of CAP rate.  

It's pretty much over in terms of "affordable".

We heard from the gas company today and they will be out later this week to install the new gas meter for the 2nd floorIn the end this house will have 2 new gas hot water heaters,  2 new forced hot air gas furnaces (already installed), & 2 new washer/dryer hookups (already installed) for the new owner from a mechanical perspectiveIn this area of the northeast gas is the most affordable options in terms of heatingAlso today the guys came and made a template for the granite countertop for the 2nd floor. 

What are you using/seeing in terms of paint and granite?