Hey Cody, Good luck on getting your second (or third) career off the ground. 

I realize that most folks don't actually follow through with the purchase option, but I think I'd rather start to build a portfolio of homes and bring in some monthly income long-term.I'd like to get involved with real estate investment, and this feels like an opportunity to turn a loss into a long-term gain, while kickstarting my investment career.

I used bank debt for 80% of the "official" purchase price, maxed out the seller credits to net out to the price we had initially agreed on ($219k), and used USAA's career starter loan program for new Army officers for ~8% of additional LTV on the HUD price (at only 2.99% interest!).

I just sold one to a young couple starting their investing career.  

Hi BP,I'm at a point in my career where I'm about ready to reset and make a hard switch.

My end goal would be to build enough passive income to supplement my other investment income, so that I could transition to a different career. 

I never pursued a career as a CFP, but understand am a personal finance nut.My buddy, @James Orr started building really cool software with the original intent for modeling his own investments.

I'm a complete newbie to real estate investing and I want to jump in and make it my career as soon as possible, here in Los Angeles.  

Recently moved to upstate New York.I work at a credit union on the army post here and am considering a career move more towards mortgage originator or financial planner.I think Alaska and New York are beautiful but I dream of settling down with my family somewhere sunny down south like Florida.

It was the worst investing decision of my 15 year career; borrowing money from them.