I recently picked up a short sale for 6k and another for 10k.

It sounds like you're in the perfect position to pick up a multi-family property as owner-occupied. 

Just picked up my third house in an all-cash deal, and I still have my personal loan LoC to use for something else.As long as the borrower has the requisite willpower, I think it's a good route to finance your REI dreams.Congratulations, Tony. 

I recommend picking an area you're familiar and comfortable with to get started.

By networking with local investors you will be able to possibly pick up a mentor and possibly others to invest.  

A deficiency can be obtained through a judicial foreclosure process however,  The Mortgagee must pick one action path there to pursue which will affect the potential time. 

In a managed mutual fund you are relying on the stock picking ability and the skill of the fund manager.  

I buy rentals in Westland and Livonia  (michigan/wayne country) and the MLS has dried up. there is pretty much a bidding war for anything under 90k. it's crazy out there. i thought i'd pick up at least 2-3 houses to add to my rental portfolio during the cold months, but that cold spell has not deterred people from buying. very disappointing.

I'm guessing you are looking to pick up these properties for a discount and you need to be careful of how you handle the situation.

I have a great credit score with about 7% debt to credit ratio but picking the proper finance method to acquire properties keeps me from pulling the preverbial trigger :(