Not trying to be offensive to any GC's here... just trying to talk this one out and find solutions.

Originally posted by :Thanks for sharing and helping me think a few moves in advance.Upon further reflection and to extend the analogy ... not only is it important to think a few moves in advance, but it is also important to understand that different pieces move in different ways and have different value at different times; some are good at offense, some are good for defense, no single piece is good or bad, the more pieces you know how to play and preserve or strategically sacrifice the better, it is seeing and knowing how to play the board that matters, and being humble enough to think in percentages with multiple exits rather than absolutes in one ... sorry if you don't care for semi-vague analogies, but I'd personally rather not try to provide answers but find more value in asking interesting questions and posing semi-vague analogies ... answers give information that has a myopic context and limited shelf life, while interesting questions and analogies (hopefully) spark interesting thoughts and interesting discussion ultimately leading to wisdom that helps you, helps me, and helps the community.

I do not mean to sound offensive either.

Alex, no offense, but that's like asking what's the average price for a car.

It's a criminal charge with a max sentence of $25,000 and a year in jail.

A lot of the seller financed properties which fall into the category of private money are straight criminal.  

Their criminal records?

Obviously want to make sure there is no criminal history, evictions, etc. 

Look for steady W2 income, look for a clean criminal record, look for no court judgments, get input from the prior landlord, etc., etc., etc.These are human beings and they are living the human existence.  

We are so smart in our country with our criminal justice system, aren't we?