I would love to carry $2000 for this, but even the cheapest house I have done both of these scopes have have run much more than that.I agree with everyone, kitchens and baths.

Talk to them ahead of time.Make sure you have the money needed to purchase, build out the 2 additional units and carry you until you refinance.

In CA our All inclusive deeds of trust ( and title insurance would have protected you)The only thing an attorney can do for you now is check to see if the Title company who closed this should have had a condition of the underlying mortgage before they did the deal.. but to the title company they may have simply thought the seller was carrying a 70k second..

The leverage you decide to carry is a personal decision based on your goals.

Real estate carries enough of its own risk that I'd want to have control over the asset or the operator I invested with. 

Special thanks to @Johnson H. for carrying most of the conversation.

I understand everything carries risk and there is no "one" way to get into it, but I just want to hear a couple personal strategies that helped get you started.

Growing up there, I have an idea of the inflated prices the area carries.

They only want to verify that you have assets to carry the property and close the loan.

@Carrie AlbertsonI file  everything alphabetically.