This is 100% top advice to think about - each state (and sometimes, often municipality/city) will have different processes, rules and yields for this - it is a very location-specific strategy and have to hyper-focus on a local market (more even for the rules/process than the real estate knowledge) to have success

I would offer interest on the original loan (thinking 5 percent). 

I'm curious what you decide to do but agree NJ is tough and lot of other flippers are in the area putting cash offers on beat up homes before we even see them hit the market.

Understand the risks and process for offering seller financing.

Most conventional investment property loans, which offer lower interest rates and 30-year amortization, require the property to be in your personal name.As a result, many investors initially secure the loan in their personal name and then transfer the property into an LLC.

For example, the house is listed for $500k and it has $300k in mortgage left at 3%Could I offer $500k and "assume" the mortgage of the seller?

@George Lods, clearly this is all anecdotal, since we are talking all hypotheticals, or at least not deal specific comparisons.As others noted, there are a a fair amount of efficiencies you can get by building a duplex versus multiple standalone properties.  

Or if you have questions that aren't market specific I would be happy to help with that as well. 

Hi everyone,As a newbie in the world of Real Estate Investing (REI), I'm eager to establish a strong foundation for managing my finances.To streamline this process and stay organized, I'm seeking recommendations for user-friendly online bookkeeping tools specifically designed for REI.

Hey Mike, I offer a white-glove solution for out-of-state investors for STRs in the Pinellas County area (Clearwater to St Pete).