i send 1, maybe 2 letters. after the initial  letter, i'm doing more research (assuming i really want the house and its worth my time) to track down the owner if it's vacant.  

So I've come across 3 properties for sale, (8 units total + 3 bay garage), seller is willing for seller financing, and all communications are going through a third party who has agreed with me when I told him I believe the seller has an unrealistic view of what his properties are worth.I was initially only interested in the first two properties because that are on the same lot and need to be sold together.

Make the rules in advance, enforce them consistently and fairly, and remember that the tenant's job is to manage your investment, not act like a defiant child.Your initial objective is to make it clear to tenants that you are running your operation as a business, there is a new sheriff in town, what was in the past was between tenant and former owner.Existing tenants should be given an opportunity to reapply or given plenty of notice that you are terminating but must okay established monthly rent, on time, until that date to vacate. 

Both the owner and I are unfamiliar with the process of being involved with an owner financed deal - it is our first time not dealing with a bank or mortgage broker.A couple initial questions for the BP community:1)  Best suited to get a real estate attorney or a closing company to handle the deal?  

I am interested in House Flipping for income initially, then transitioning to Buy and Hold for long term passive income and equity.

@Devlin Harding  The key is to line up the initial acquisition financing that allows you to leverage your available capital to do more acquisitions than you can on your own, with a lender that is as invested in your success as you are, and can execute fast enough to give you a speed to market advantage.  

One initial deposit of $1600 to open account & another deposit of $150.

We did't think this was a problem initially since we knew the property would produce enough income to cover the mortgage plus cash flow.

A great way to BRRR is to form a JV with that out of state investor. when someone  has a stake in an investment   instead of being a hired gun,  they will  have the same initiative ad you  to make the investment a success. 

The initial inclination is to keep the properties as rentals, but there are several approaches available to me....