I could recognize those elements is each story you shared. 

NETROnline essentially provides links to the county sites and lets you know if there's data available there and if there's a subscription needed on the county site.

@David W.By doing the HELOC for the downpayment, you are essentially doing 100% financing.  

Essentially, in a hot market people will buy anything priced right for fear of not getting anything at all."

I read somewhere that with some loans, my mother could essentially "gift me" the down payment.

Now, you simply have to work on the other elements to progress your REI pursuit.Ok, now that you have taken your initial step, below are some quick links to get engaged. http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere http://www.biggerpockets.com/ubg http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet Setting up Keyword Alerts How to Use @Mentions on BiggerPockets 25 Tips for Real Estate Success However, this site thrives on interactions and as such we encourage two way exchanges and look forward to educational and thought provoking ideas relevant to REI.

If appraised high enough, take a cash-out loan while essentially having no capital invested.

If you want to take it to the max, then each element you highlighted becomes a factor and you then add all together to come up with the cap rate.

If you're looking to get started early it is essential to get a w2 job as lenders will be looking for financial strength.

You should have realized your contract was essentially useless being that you are not under contract with the other 50% owner.