However i know in fact that they do easily in Houston.Kyle

I could easily afford the monthly payments and told him to give me $15K and I would assume the loan. 

But it does not answer the question of what strategy you should pursue, because you could as easily partner with a hard money lender as a wholesaler or fix/flip guy.My advice is not to give up on buy and hold.  

., 42 for us military folk), I wouldn't have a worry in the world…In my mind, I was only losing about $380/month, and I could easily cover that with my income.

Being in Framingham you can easily try both the Worcester meeting (next Tues) and the Waltham one (The following Tuesday.  

I have family there and I believe I could easily manage a rental or rentals in that market.  

For that price of $400-600k, you could buy 4-6 properties out-of-state easily that would all cash flow and you'd then have the tax benefits and security of 4-6 doors versus dumping all your money into a low- to non-performing property and hoping nothing goes wrong with it.

We have the same thoughts and ideas 95% of the time, and the other 5% we have always been able to easily come to an agreement.

Built in 2002, it is a fully rented four plex (one unit is month-to-month so we would move in there).Current asking price: $495,000 (though originally listed at 474k, he upped the price after 16 days)Days on Zillow Market: Over 100Reason for Selling: To either purchase a SFH for himself and his GF or buy a commercial property, possibly storage unitsRents: 4,400 monthly (Owner said 2 units could be easily increased by $50 to $75 each)Expenses (annual)Property Taxes (assessed 2014): 7,754Insurance: 3,000 (guess)Maintenance & Repairs: 4,200 (guess)Utilities: 4,500 (average for last 18 months from water company, owner currently pays water/sewer/trash but there are separate water meters so we would look into passing this to the tenants as the leases expire)Advertising: $150 (only advertising is for new tenants when leases expire)Administrative/Misc Costs: $150Mortgage Insurance: $6,501 (from mortgage broker at 490k loan level)Snow Removal: $1,500 (as acountants, our busy season is during the winter and we don't have the time or patience to deal with this, there is a sidewalk + steps + driveway and back parking area to be plowed)Lawn Care: $150 (supplies fund, we will mow it ourself, first year expense of a lawnmower not included)Mortgage: 26,579 (FHA, 3.5% down, 3.75%)At 495kAnnual cash flow: $-1,684CoC: -9.72%NOI: 24,895Total ROI: 40.89%At 450k (keeping mortgage insurance at 490k loan level b/c I don't have other numbers)Annual cash flow: 762CoC: 4.84%NOI: 24,895Total ROI: 55.54%As it stands, my numbers are telling me this deal will not work, given the $100/mo/unit minimum standard most people are looking for here.This is the first deal that I have really looked at though as seriously buying, so I would love other people's opinions on my analysis.

Example: if ever sued and your assets are in a land trust by an LLC, your real name and other info. can be easily searched in the system to see who owns the land trust by searching the info. created to form the LLC  that the land trust is under.