We have been planning a major overhaul of the forums, but it has been sidelined somewhat due to other imminent issues.

Are some of you sitting on the side lines?

I told him that I would stay in IF I make First Class before my 2nd term is over but other than that I would be doing sidelines investing on Real Estate.

I never "bought in" to the Fannie world for investment properties, so I will by speaking from the sidelines more than as somebody in that world.As to your first question - I am almost certain that 2 properties would be considered 2 mortgages for Fannie.  

After many years of watching from the sidelines and suffering from analysis paralysis, I'm happy to say that I've finally taken the next step!

Derrick, Congratulations on your first step, you are an encouragement to the people who are waiting on the sidelines.  

These investors would rather deploy capital into bad investments than to have the capital sitting on the sidelines -- this allows them to push off the problems of dealing with irate shareholders to tomorrow instead of today.So, we are able to wholesale non-rehabbed properties at essentially ARV to investors planning to hold as rentals.

Sold everything (long story) Went into the restaurant business (still there) but ready to get off the sidelines and get back to RE more aggressively.

I dont disagree with Karen Margrave about the land behind the Orange Curtain, tho' for the rest of us in Southern California, this market makes me sick.Prices cap rates on commercial property, SFRs are all overinflated, I have sidelined my money and also started looking at other states to invest my food stamps. . .I came across a great article in WSJ, let me dig it up:http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2013/01/22/six-reasons-housing-inventory-keeps-declining/Hang in there all, normalization will DEFINITELY happen. . . in the next 50 years!

I've spent several years on the sidelines reading a lot of material (Allen, Sheets, Terry, Kiyosaki, etc) and trying to find a way to enter the investment arena.