We do currently own our home (condo) and now that we are to one income not sure how traditional financing will go so I have been researching seller financing or other creative forms of financing.

People poo poo the guru shows, but you know if you spend a few hundred bucks and attend and pick up 1 item to help you close a deal in real estate, what is that worth, at least 5 to 10x the cost?

I think more of what you are asking is how the occupancy level and accuracy will affect what kind of loan you can get and how much you will put down and how much the debt service will be.A regular lender at 90% occupied maybe 6.5% fixed at 75% ltv.If you get into value add deals you will pay points and a much higher rate to fund and lower LTV.You will then need to refi after stabilizing about 1 year out.So you build the carrying costs into the amount of time needed.The books will determine the verified income and actual costs.From there you run your desired cap going in and that tells you around the price you want to pay.Now if the books are out of normal standard margins you have to ask yourself why that is (deferred maintenance,undisclosed credits to tenants,disguising fees paid to themselves in other line items,etc.)

I also know that you may NOT market to pre-foreclosures/foreclosures (which simply means do not mention these two items in your advertising).

Sorry I'm not following, your PI is $1191.55 add the 50% which will include TI and then add back taxes as they are an extraordinary item, and your expenses come to $2796.

BTW, the traditional advantages of real estate include not only cash flow, but also mortgage paydown and appreciation.

The problem is that when you try to flip a non-traditional houses, the risk factor increases dramatically.

They may have a disclaimer, but its worth a conversation asking why they failed to include these items in their report.

One I can suggest is storing your tools and other items at another location.Charles also made a good point at there being a line between investor and business owner.I'm not very conservative in my opinions; however, the big line depends upon if you are an RE professional or not.Uwe K.

These properties are more difficult to finance than more traditional property types.