I lost money, hope you don't!

My wife and I are educating ourselves and working on our investment strategy to help her retire from nursing and spend more time with our kiddos. 

He has owned this property since 1999 and still owes money on the mortgage and we are interested in learning of a way to benefit the both of us instead of me using an owner occupied loan. 

But you will have to hold the property several years to get your money back, often with negative cash flow. 

That's the kind of talk you'll hear from every get-rich-quick guru on the planet, kind of like "7-Minute Abs" or Hydroxycut weight-loss pills.Just look at what he promises: you don't need to use your own money, you don't need to inspect the properties, you'll spend very little time on the deal, you aren't personally liable for the loans and debt, you'll work less and earn more...This can all be true if you know what you are doing.

We'd likely lose our down payment of around $15K but break even in not owing any money.

It's going to be incredibly hard to get hard money funding for your first deal to be purchased at the steps. 

Its your money but I would drive the areas to get a feel for whats around what you are buying . 

We actually (legally) made more money on our property because of the fire!

Our market is the same way, either spend the money on a hot tub or expect much lower revenues!