I am looking to arm myself with as much REI knowledge as possible before I purchase my first property.

Start calling banks. 15 year is common around me. 5/1 arm

Your only option is to go to a non-conventional lender, who will do the cash-out but at a higher rate and only with a 3 yr or 5 yr ARM.

Armed with the new insight and direction I then purchased a half duplex using the home path 10% down investor loan program.Here recently I sold my condo in San Diego and used the proceeds to buy a fairly turnkey single family and a full duplex that required a lot of updating. 

I would welcome another inspector to help me ensure quality and safety on my projects but these guys/gals and many of the new building codes they're passing are mostly waists of time and money.Many of these codes are pushed by lobbyist that represent business or industries that sell the materials or services used in complying with the new code requirements.  

So if the property has a safety issue that comes up, what happens?

I was employed by the American Red Cross as the Service to the Armed Forces Specialist at Fort Bliss, TX, and I served as a Parent Educator for the United Way. 

I've been in the Clearwater/Safety Harbor area for about 10 years now and first began looking for properties to flip/buy-hold in Dec. of 2014.

I brought in multiple offers and every buyer had already came armed with a preapproval letter and was very qualified and capable of getting a mortgage if they weren't all cash.  

Assessed market value = $135,000 Offer accepted= $105,000 Cash out of pocket (30% down/legal fees/closing costs/taxes/insurance - $4000 sellers credit for repairs/security deposits)= $41,832 Total financed 5/20 ARM @ 5.5%= $69,752.70 Yearly Income = $42,360- 10% vacancy = $38,124.00 Yearly Expense + Debt Service= $32,640 Free Cash Flow yearly= $5,484 Monthly Income                                                     Monthly Expense #1= $750                                     Debt Service (inc. taxes& insurance) = $920 #2= $650                                     10% rent Property Management fee = $400 #3= $500                                                                         Gas&Electric = $600 #4= $400                                                                           Water&Trash= $300 #5= $500                             Property Maintenance, repairs & upkeep= $500 #6= $680 TOTAL MONTHLY= $3530.00                     TOTAL EXPENSE MONTHLY= $2720All in all I feel I learned a heck of a lot on this first go around, and can't wait to keep it up.