I think an investor that wants to be in this game for the long haul is going to have reserves, and those should be held as liabilities against the property, so it should deduct from the numerator, in my opinion. 

@Ned Carey, and @Dave Meadows - yeah avl has game. we saw pretty ridiculous appreciation in our neighborhood, like 30% over last 3 years. such little inventory as well. the influx of breweries and the long term development plan for the river corridor / river arts district is so promising. all we need is a surf / kayak wave (manmade whitewater feature) right in the middle of town, and we'll be on the next level!

I don't want to wait, so I'll be looking for a second portfolio lender to do a few loans for me until the first one is ready to come back in the game.

They could be misleading me but that is part of the game I guess.

While agreeing with Dave on personal finances, I also have read all of Robert Kiyosaki's books and have ace'd his cash flow 101 game. 

YES if you are willing to admit to yourself that you will be ETHICAL and play the game to win.......

I'm ready to jump in the game.

RE is a numbers game.

It's nearly impossible to see every difficulty that may present itself... anything from Mechanical failures, Roof problems, Electrical or Plumbing problems, Structural issues, etc.Most importantly... know your end game.

Haven't been able to get financing because we can't put skin in the game, so we gotta get creative.Our plan is to talk to the seller about doing seller financing, with the seller paid their interest (and the principal, of course) when the property sells post rehab.....so that would take care of the seller.