Of course the above 2 points can vary deal by deal based on the deal terms, but 99.99% of cases align with the above.

@Carlos Ptriawan Good idea on the cashier's check - but Bank of America plays the same game even on those now.

We have something for everyone so short term rentals may be in demand for a while for both work and play.

Always be willing to walk away, or, if you really want it you're going to likely pay above what makes the most financial sense to you based on pure math. 

You need to develop a base of knowledge.  

This is going to sound sacrilege but I think you should get a W-2 job in real estate based on your end game of wanting to be a developer I would look to work for developers, custom builders, surveyors etc.

Hi Shane, I want to tell you something from my research because it seems that we've been doing the same thing when it comes to educating ourselves on RE.Given that you already have 20k, which is around half of the down payment, try to leverage family and friends as private money lender in order to complete the down payment.Second, depending on how long you had your primary, assuming that you did not cash out anything from the equity, you can try out this option ( no need to cash out all, just cash out the amount that you need to make this deal happen).just my humble opinion based on what I have learned!

Immediately if you want leverage to be based off purchase price + verified rehab. 3 months if you want leverage to be based off new appraised value.

This is a rough game to play you just need to know rules and play them 

I have no idea how that would play out in court, but I can't afford to pay attorney's fees on top of the balance.