Used HELOC for down payment All one bedroom units and was a work in progress to start.

I'm using do hard money I have read they low ball on the evaluation for arv is this true can they use foreclosures for arv.

Also, how can I evaluate their rates and offers to make sure that its a good deal?

Evaluate my deal.

Taxes will increase after sale so call the county assessor to see how they will re-evaluate property tax given the purchase price you're working with.

I have underwritten and evaluated a variety of broken deals in the past.

A few things I would keep in mind as you evaluate this plan:1) make sure you are accounting for all expenses as you evaluate properties (Vacancy, maintenance, Capex, etc).

Evaluate where your debt is and what your goals are and go from there.  

I use both as a RE investor between commercial and residential as both can be used on 1-4 unit properties (non owner/investment occupancy).The pro's of commercial/portfolio financing from local credit unions and community banks are that you can:- talk to a local banker/lender who is interested in building a relationship with you over time and is flexible to make a loan as long as its financially prudent and you show a track record- ability to build a track record with- less documentation scrutiny than a fannie/freddie conventional loan which is more ridged because it needs to be sold to the secondary market so all boxes must be checked to do so (otherwise the loan is unsellable or undeliverable)- is cashflow based via debt coverage ratio or DCR method of qualification (Net operating income / debt service) - can fund to LLC's, entities, and businesses with personal guarantee (PG) usually- can do unique loans like cross collateral or blanket notes across an entire portfolio, can do rehab/construction + permanent financing into one (one time close products), can do soft liens and releasable upon progress on your projects so you can leverage equity with temporarily encumbrances, unique disbursements on credit facilities,etc Hope that helped compare the cash out options.

I've seen lots of progress BackgroundStatus: RenterPurchase Location: Bay area CaliforniaCriteria: MFH,  Oakland, Richmond, El Cerrito, South San FranciscoGoal: House hackWinsFound a lender that has me fully underwritten pre-approval FHA near max and I can close on a property in 17 days.Met and made connections with contractors, lenders, flippers, agents.Part of an African American real estate investment group and have a small group of real estate friendsChallenges / Learnings - I have no idea how the relationship between the Buyer and Agent is supposed to work.