Also the advice on writing offers and the lower purchase price is something I have been wondering about given that I have not yet ran preliminary deal numbers at purchase price without negative cashflow for single family rentals in my area.

For now, this is mainly for me to do some preliminary analysis because I am interested in real estate but I am very new to it. 

- What is some good general preliminary advice when jumping into your first investment?

One advantage is the interest only payments but most are tied to the prime rate so get ready for rate shock.  

- What is some good general preliminary advice when jumping into your first investment?

So what we did was we’d direct Lo Ball Ho to a property that was over priced where we wanted to “shock” the seller into (hopefully) getting a grip on reality.

@Krista Walker  chuckling a little here but yes.. they should.. and of course when you get your preliminary title report it will clearly denote who the owner is.and on your purchase and sale agreement there should be a seller.. unless they are doing a undisclosed double escrow type deal which I highly doubt he would do.. and or just flat ask them are these MLS listings your sending me or are they off market that you own or your close investors own. 

I was shocked reading this is a possibility.

A good CPA, advises on threats before they occur, and not tell the client after the fact they owe money and the client is shocked.

Next it will all come down to the numbers for the deal to really confirm 80%-90% LTC/LTV on purchase, 100% of rehab (funded in draws) not to exceed 65-75% ARV (depending on the lender, most are 70-75% ARV) Kiavi is a great lender, but it comes at no surprise as their internal credit analysis throws me for a loop sometimes (and shocks me, as very qualified borrowers sometimes still don't make it through that analysis)In short, you simply need to connect with the right lenders and each will have varying rates, costs, fees, etcBill Fay referenced the Hard Money Lenders link here on BP which is a great direct resource!