Here is an outline of some of the differences between buying with a hard money loan and a conventional loan -along with some of the pros and cons:1) CONVENTIONAL LOANa) Down payment: 25 to 30% on Investment Propertiesb) Rehab costs: All rehab costs are paid out of pocket by the buyerc) Points/Closing costs: No points (or maybe .5 or 1% or something really low) to closed) Rates: Better rates 4.5 to 5.25%e) Amort length: Longer amortization period (30 yr mortgages) to help cash flowf) Paperwork: Qualifying is much more time consumingg) Refi needed to get investment back out: Need to do a cash out refi in order to get any of the down payment or rehabe money back.

Listen for the terms, which should include price, down payment, rate, length of term, etc...

If so, I'd love to chat with them.I get $393/month in cash flow with the following assumptions:(With 20% down and 4.25% rate and $450/month in rent I get $595/month and 20+% ROI)130k PriceRents @ $400/month eachMortgage Rate 5.50%Length of Mortgage in years 30Monthly Mortgage payment $553.59Taxes $83.33Sewer and Water $-Trash $-Heat/Utilities $-HOA $-General $150.00 (might be a bit low with college students banging on the place)Insurance $100.00Mgmt Fee $160.00 (10%)Vacancy $160.00 (10%)Total Expenses $1,206.93

These rules of thumb are discussed at length in other forums.Then simply work with an agent to look at houses on the MLS and make offers.If, at some point, you want to try to find houses directly, use the techniques used by wholesalers - direct marketing, bandit signs (they're called "bandit" for a reason), door knocking, etc.

I always set money aside for HVAC on REO's because of the length of time it proabably has sat without the utilities turned on.

They should be installed so that they face each other (the wyes laying laterally) so that they don't leave a short length between that you can't snake.

Clint,Believe me, I fully understand the length of time for building corporate credit.

Arm’s Length Clause - “Seller and buyer each represent that the sale is an “arm’s length†transaction and the seller and buyer are unrelated to each other by family marriage or commercial enterprise.

I'm quite sure a fixed rate for any length of time will be difficult to achieve.

In most neighborhoods (perhaps not so much in newer developments), properties selling at or near "assessed" value are simply a fluke, and as anyone should know today, what a buyer and seller may agree to, in an arms length transaction has little to do with the "opinion" that might be rendered by an appraiser.Assigning a $/sf to a property based upon other properties sales prices is equally irrational.