If you did it afterwards, you would invalidate the Title Insurance policy (as mentioned above), effectively transferred Title via a deed (no other way to do it) in which the mortgage could be called in via the Due on Sale clause (granted pretty rare, but the point is you just violated a term of your Note), and for some strange reason you went in a roundabout fashion to move the TItle from the Aunt, to yourself, and then to the Aunt and yourself as Tenants in Common which is an automatic and only 50%/50% split. 

When I explained it to her, she told me the two party check was to make sure I get the work done in a timely fashion and that's the way they always do it. 

However whenever I buy real estate, I always have reserves in one fashion or another, be it 401k money I can borrow against, a HELOC or RELOC that I can borrow, a brokerage account or just cash.

That way, it seems possible to pull Zillow data in a more targeted fashion at least..I appreciate any help!

If the market conditions you are betting on happen buy, and rent out one of the houses and ride the wave until values return.

Location is also important, as some of the newer areas are a 20+ minute ride by golf cart to an entertainment/dining/shopping square.

Someone that has an honest and proven track record of following up in a timely fashion with the ability of closing deals!

They are better than hard money loans when it comes to terms, but not by much.There are no “no doc” loans available other than good old fashioned “hard money,” with high down payments (25% or more), high rates and high fees (several points at best).

20% down payment / Conforming 30-year fixed loan @ 3.5%(Fun fact, we won about 1/3 of the down payment in Las Vegas when we hit a Royal Flush on Let It Ride and won $15k.

Staying consistent will keep the leads coming in a steady stream and avoid you being rich and poor and riding a wave that's out of your control.