I would focus on repairing your credit. see a specialist (faster) or open credit cards little by little and pay them off each month. im not saying increase your spending, just saying instead of buying that tank of gas in cash use a cc and immediately pay it off. while your credit is repairing, start banking cash. build a budget and stick to it. 80K a year is good money, make it a goal of yours to retain as much of it as possible i.e. don't eat out, don't go to the local pub, drive a modest paid off car etc. once your credit is up and savings is up, use the 80k a year plus savings to get leverage. then use that leverage to buy your properties. if your looking for a get rich quick scheme, id advise u skip over RE. don't get me wrong, you can make money fast by flipping homes but you didn't mention having experience in that area so I assume you don't. another option if your really in a hurry is to find a partner with experience and cash, and see if you can buy into one of his/hers deals. you would have to market yourself for this and see what type of skills they may need that you have. maybe you can buy in and use your web development skills to beef up and/or maintain your partners website saving them money on outsourcing. that might be your ticket into a partnership. since you mentioned your helping your friend, maybe you can partner with him?

His actions say that he's actually fairly indifferent about losing the house (and perhaps he needs to be educated on this fact), but he probably doesn't want to immediately lose a place to stay.

Lenders must apply fair lending laws and ensure that they are not subject to any violations of UDAAP when reviewing any lending transaction.

Most neighborhoods around here are fairly good and you're always in walking distance to the beach and shops/restaurants. 

The training to become a land surveyor seems fairly minimal and surveys cost at least several hundred dollars for a few hours work.

Transparency is key, not all landlords are comfortable with this arrangement but many see the advantages of working with professionals who are able to maintain the properties at higher standards than with long term leases.

You can look up the name of entity you want to register on Texas Secretary of State website, and if it is Unique, and you have a valid Tax ID, ( or your personal number - if you know what I mean),  you can be fairly certain to get the entity registered.  

I'm thinking of buying a Condo in a fairly popular tourist destination a couple blocks off the beach in Hawaii.

Stay out of the big cities and try to find areas that have several small towns that tend to be fairly close to each other (say 5 or 10 miles each. 

I am simply looking for general advice and feedback on experiences with this type of transaction.My situation is as follows.Purchased a SFH in May 2016 for $96,500 with an FHA loan for my primary residence.In Summer of 2018 I am looking to refinance to a conventional loan because I believe I will be at 20% equity at this point, if not I will wait a bit longer.I would like to maintain ownership of this home and rent at a rate of $1000/month.For my next property I would like to purchase a home that qualifies for 203k financing.