We are past all that now and are excited/delighted about our #3 addition to the family however it has put a pause on all the above since we feel we should hold onto the cash for security and any unexpected stuff that may come up.

When the market changes and investors have the upper-hand again, I like this method of finding contractors.

If you can secure a 30 year amort that is great!

He told me if these were normal loans then i could probably get away with it, because they are secured differently from what i understood talking with him.

Credit union is the best source of financing if you can secure it.She's asking you for a business plan basicly: monthly projection of your payments received from rent and your payments on bills like taxes, insurances, property manager etc.Let's say, you want to buy a house for $70K, update it for $30K and you think your rent will be $2K/month.Then you make a payment plan for each month what is going to be paid: January+July - taxes $1020 each; March - insurance $870, every month water/sewer $50 (if you don't plan on Tenants to pay)When you make it an Excel table, there will be each month left cash flow, which you then add with mortgage payments.That's one of the main projected financials: your cash flow.Income projected as an income&loss statement: $24,000 income from rent                   $2040 - taxes                   $870 - insurance                   $600 - water/sewer                    $2400 - PM                     $4,000 - interest on mortgage- depreciation - maintenance- other expensesWhen you talk to the bank,  they should see positive numbers, not just that you know you'll pay.

Food for thought.Another option that I have investors employing now is a combination of separating cash and debt to create an environment of lowered risk but good return using the 1031 exchange to separate debt (risk) and cash (security). 

I haven’t bought anything using this method yet but everything is in motion.

What would your competitive advantage be using shipping containers compared with the competition using aluminum buildings with garage doors, a retail office, security gates, etc.?

It sounds like it is above the price point you are targeting, but it may give you some ideas based on the house-hacking method we used as an alternative to buying a multi-family! 

The promissory note is secured against the property as collateral by way of mortgage recorded against the deed.