Be very careful with this though, if you have shorter term financing like I do prepare for a down turn, I have no idea how much values fluctuate in your market, and if your note need to be renewed in a down market, you better have enough equity, or a pile of cash to bring in, I have seen many investors collapse because they harvested too much equity, I limit my portfolio to 40% LTV, im running about 35% on 21 properties right now, so i feel pretty safe, I was through the last crash and saw some guys i thought had it figured out crash and burn, just a word of warning. 

I don't recall the details, but Larry seems to be the king of creative deal making.

Hello, What are some creative financing tactics and strategies that you have used to fund a deal with zero out of pocket?

If you are doing creative financing I could see some options but is that what you're talking about?  

And so in the meantime, my goal right now is just to become as knowledgeable as I can so that when I take the plunge, I'm prepared and hopefully not in over my head.

It is best to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Both were severely outdated but in a gentrifying area. his is still a pretty rough, low income propertyAny reasonable suggestions, creative ways, ideas on how to convince them to sell?

Also look into:- Bookkeeper (hire someone) so you can concentrate on building your assets and equity- CPA advisor (not just tax prep) and at least meet with them every three months with your financials- Real Estate Attorney - may sure they are in sync with your CPA Advisor- Tax Preparer - could be an EA or CPA.

@Rick Willson  I would go prepared with the following:last two years tax returns with all scheduleslast two years W2slast 2 months bank statements to show reserveslast 30 days of pay stubscurrent leases for each propertyif any rental properties were acquired this year and not listed on your schedule E yet, proof of receipt of rent or security depositmortgage statement, tax bills, proof of insurance, HOA statements for any other properties, including your primary residence There's no need to look "bigger than you are." 

The kitchen/dining room would have a door.I would relocate a door in the garage so that if I entered through the garage, I could still go upstairs without seeing the tenants and make a wall so that tenants couldn't go upstairs.The wall to wall carpet is in great condition but i guess I could take it out and put hardwood when the carpet gets old.I'm guessing the rennovation would probably cost around $30k.My current mortgage is 2800 and I owe about $500k but I need to buy my Ex out.1000sqft homes/apartments that are 2/1 in my area rent for about $3200/monthI could rent the top floor for maybe $3700/month (property manager rents my next door neighbors entire house with similar floor plan for $4500) How can I get financing toa. creatively buy my ex out (maybe pay her out in payments with low interest?).