The borrower sees whatever numbers they want for things that don't matter, the underwriter sees the accurate numbers that they actually need to be accurate, and boom everyone wins. 

The 1st mortgage is typically non-assumable.So, I look to "refinancing" them, but the answer is usually that they won't refinance the mortgage if I'm not the borrower.

If you cannot or do not want to borrow, you have to split profits with someone with money.

Borrower with spotty pay history has gone dark for 3 months.

The deed of trust stated if borrower defaults on payment or tax or insurance , lender will foreclose as remedy.  

The only thing I could figure might have happened is that the syndicator's purchase of the 70-80% of the units would have been based purely on cap rate, as a commercial deal, and rents seem to have appreciated pretty well at the complex in the last 5 years (25% by one metric) while market forces in general and rates for borrowing capital, in particular, seem to have driven cap rates considerably lower / prices higher, from what I gather (although, I'm not a syndicator currently, on either the GP or LP side, so I really don't know what I'm talking about in this regard).  

@Suzanne Reilley and @Mitch Foster for self employed borrowers, if you're interested in a non conventional income analysis there are several options.

Go with your gut here . . . the quality of a note lies in both the collateral and the borrower, so if due diligence was skipped on either it would be a shame.

@Phillip ChristieAs @Justin G. noted, there isn’t really a pre-approval for an apartment building of 5 or more units because it is the building that qualifies not the borrower.

My wife is of the Dave Ramsey thinking and continually states that debt is dumb and wanting to borrow money to purchase real estate is somehow immoral.