When you get to the "big boy" level, you might be able to play around with LERTA stuff.

Thoughts on ways to come down to the sellers level, wthout seeming like your spuing real-estate nosence?

Immigration:I have read that investing in real estate as a non-resident may cause issues at immigration levels (they don't like it)? 

Definitely some higher level thinking there, but equating cash flow and opportunity value of equity would have to be at the discretion of the investor.

I regularly give seller financing offers in with my bank financing offers on properties.When you do sit down and talk to him about it try and frame the conversation in terms of what it will do for him - he will get the mortgage paid off but then have a deed of trust on the property while you are paying him.  

what level of rehab do you plan on doing?

A glut of new apartments washing over the city has quickly turned the tables as vacancy rates hit their highest levels since the recession, led by downtown Seattle, where one-fourth of all apartments are now sitting empty.Landlords who are increasingly hard-pressed to fill their open apartments are offering deals like a free month’s rent, lucrative gift cards and even free electronics."

I could tell you what I think is your best course of action for financing, and regardless how much you trust and value my opinion, it’s still only my opinion based on my experiences and knowledge.

I’ve been itching to buy a shell in the area but I want to line up a well trusted (experienced) contractor before diving in.

At the most basic level, we would all like to think we know of the "indicators", but it would be nice to get your perspective.