@Bill WilliamsNew Mexico is one of about 9 states that has a Community Property right between married couples, which includes ( as I understand it), as stated previously, the home acquired prior to marriage belongs to the individual, not both of you; hence she would have the freedom to sell or mortgage that home anytime, without your consent involved.Any income earned from such a separate property belongs to the individual, but if you choose to share bank accounts and 'commingle' funds, and the house is sold, those proceeds placed into a joint account become community i.e. both of your funds.Community property is acquired by either spouse during marriage, and selling or  encumbrance requires both of your signatures.  

As a Private Lender, you can joint venture with Rehabbers on their projects.. and you can charge them interest during the project, and also Split Net Profits with the Rehabber once the property sells on the market.

I am super excited to meeting other investors or possible joint ventures partner. 

It just doesn't have to be YOUR money.It could be a partner who brings cash to the relationship / partnership / joint venture / whatever.Cash-poor "lone rangers" don't fare very well in REI.

I'm also open to joint venturing on properties! 

Provided I follow all the timelines and hold property "A" as joint tenants with my partner?

So, I revisited the Matrix and really investigated this joint venture/mentor/student thing.

@Patrick Philip,Well, banks are "flush with cash" these days, but no, they do not have unlimited funds.Also, when banks lend, they impose certain restrictions on the loans, the borrower, the collateral, the terms of the loan, etc. so the note can be sold in the secondary market or be insured by government-sponsored agencies like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc.Private lenders ("OPM") typically don't write loans to sell them, and typically are interested in the deal rather than the borrower's details.Using OPM down usually means putting some kind of partnership, joint venture, etc. together so the source of the down payment is less of an issue or a non-issue to  the lender(s).Dunno if that helps...

One of the joint tenants is deceased and the other is the child of the deceased who I am having trouble locating.

Cal right now, but we're also looking at venturing out into the Midwest and we're always open to doing Joint Ventures if that's something you think you might be interested in.