However, this could also portend our own situation in a year's time if we take them. 

When I have a situation like this, I give them a written notice to accept the property in its current condition or get out.

The situation you are ultimately trying to avoid is the one where: the borrower defaults, you start foreclosure, the borrower fights the foreclosure and says they didn't understand the loan / could never afford to pay it / you didn't follow the consumer rules, etc, then the judge asks if you followed those rules and you can't show that.... 

And having a property manager does not mean that you’re not directly involved with a lot of issues with your properties.Given your situation I might rather suggest a REIT investment where you get exposure to the category, but not have to deal with such a large portfolio, or just get your feet wet and see if you like being a landlord by buying a couple of properties  Randy  

There are rules and situations unique to each state and that is why you want to go with a local lender vice someone just reaching out to you telling you they can do it. 2) Better recourse if the lender screws something up: a local lender has more skin in the game so to speak as if they screw something up their name will be mud to local real estate agents in the deal.

@Andrew Syrios, I also like Texas in this situation.  

Depending on the situation, it could still be worth it for SFHs especially if you have capital gains or other income you need to offset this year.  

@Dina Schmid  We has a situation where the seller of the property was an estate and listed the property as being 8 acres. 

If you’re building spec homes and looking for a line of credit, both options, local banks and private lenders can work, depending on your situation.

I drive a Tesla… it’s a really fun car… but has so much acceleration you can get yourself in a dangerous situation if you don’t respect its capabilities… especially as a new driver.