I notice a different kind of tone in responses lately.

@Mari Leopold small local banks are investors best friend.... hard money lender would be a faster process to get the funds faster but you will need some reserves to go that process not to mention have a solid team that is going to go in and knock it out... these are probably gut rehab jobs so you definitely going to need some trusted contractors that are effective.... you should come to this South Side Investor meeting tonight to network with investors, hard money lenders, contractors, etc.  

Things that having an impact -The quarter ending house cleaning-major firms massive appetite to max out their available debt causing banks to need more cash on hand to meet either withdrawals and or regulatory requirements.  

Even if they balk, it exercises your creative muscles. 

As they say, best to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it. 

My sister can qualify for a mortgage, and also happens to need a place to live.Our idea is to jointly invest in a property in which she secures a conventional mortgage for a primary residence for herself.

Set the tone right away to the tenants that you are there to run a good property. 

I'm going to take a slightly different tone (but still positive) from others. 

You never know when you're going to need a good insurance agent, an attorney, a real estate agent, etc. 

Unless you have a PML that youve done a ton of business with, who knows and trusts you, any other lender is always going to need you to have some skin in the game, which is no bad thing for everyone involved in my experience.