I don't know how you deal with the Mello Roos in Ladera... approaching 2% on property taxes for homes on tiny lots with bad freeway access... yikes.

I'd approach every interaction (including posts on BP) without that bit of information in your mind and ignore it anytime he brings it up.

We always had this approach when buying property."

I have a town home i brought it for 200k, and added 5k to renovate.The rent i get is around $1650.

@Chris Attiliis - congrats on getting going and that's a smart approach for your 1st property.

We were going to both invest $50k and split 50/50 on the profits on that triplex, which would have brought us both about $300-$400 / mo profit after costs.I want to trust him, but I also want to safeguard against anything going wrong.My goals are to simply buy property, both Multi-Family Units and SFR's, and create a passive income stream to help me with my goals of going back to school and creating something bigger with my life.Any advice is greatly appreciated!

@Omi Chandiramani - welcome to BP and I LOVE your approach.

I have heard of two occurrences in my city where someone purchased a home and the city would not turn on the water unless the plumbing was brought up to code.

When you get into big money things are political, let's not be naïve.While I like the regulatory approach of the CFPB, my concern is more to closing the door to entry into the mortgage loan business.

Save it.If you can't live within your means and save money you will always struggle with finances no matter how much you have.That said, here are some approaches starting outPartnersPrivate lenders (friends and family) Hard money lendersWholesaling (can be done with little money but it is hard work and hard to develop a consistent income)Credit cards - Risky but I know people who got their start that way.