The nice thing about props in Iowa is they are (a) affordable to purchase, and (b) cash flow quite nicely.

Also, how would you craft the agreement so that you are protected but it is a win-win for everyone involved.I recently listened to one of the older podcasts, where the subject to is crafted in a way that gives the initial buyer a 60 day option to find a buyer wanting to do a lease purchase.My good friend owns a nice 2004 3/2 down the road from me and she is recently divorced but is stationed in CA in the Air Force and can't afford the maintenance on it...she has rented it the last year but couldnt get the rents because of some of the deferred maintenance issues so she can't even cover her mortgage now.  

, try to find out how long they have been vacant (can you afford to sit on an empty property that long?).  

I have my tenants ask me occasionally if I would be willing to sell them the house, to which I usually reply "We'll see", because it's unlikely they can afford to buy the house for what I would need to sell it - which would be, at a minimum, my original investment, equity appreciation, plus the difference I would need to purchase something equivalent in today's market.

But in this case, since you're buying from your mom and you can include in that contract and deed explicit permission for a wrap, it's not a big deal.However, anyone who's going to buy a $40,000 house isn't going to be able to afford $700 per month, and if they can afford it, they can likely go to a bank and get a traditional loan.

So many folks just biding their time who still can't afford the home they purchased in an over inflated market.

well sometimes we have short memeories or your young enough to just be getting starting in RE business.2 things happened in phX that tanked those values.. 1. politics kicking the illegals out.2. building stopped tenants leftMuch of this housing was and is hispanics they were fleeing back to mexico for political reasons and because new contruction stopped loss of job was huge.so you had 4 plex's go vacant or only have one or 2 tenants.And of course the dreaded turn over which always cost money along with under capitalized owners in many cases could not afford negative cash flow along with turn over expenses led to a melt down.things have rebounded... same thing happned in Vegas with the 4 plex's there.

You need at least one layer of protection between you(r personal possessions and assets) and your business entity structure (translation: more than one entity)If your businesses are properly established and maintained they WILL afford you considerable (though not "perfect") protection against even the most frivolous of lawsuits.

If it is your first residence in Alberta you can of course get in with very little down and with current low interest rates its very affordable. 

If you cannot afford to lose the money I would not suggest purchasing.