I'm not surprised by that, but shopping around with other lenders might reveal more favorable reserve requirements.3.

Just curious...but haven't the subject-to deals fallen out of favor because banks are more regularly enforcing the due on sale clause?

I'm wondering if I leave the house in the business name if that would work out in my favor any.Probably going to have to make a new company, and that's fine, just wondering if anyone sees potential in saving some money somehow.

Personally I would favor a fixer upper, provided the floor plan wasn't horrible.  

As a new investor, I also took the liberty of researching this firm and read less than favorable reviews for this organization.

I would check with a few lenders in your area to see who has the most favorable rates and terms to align with your goals.

In fact I appreciate it immensely and will always repay the favor for knowledge.

Having another investor do you a favor might save you trip costs to view it yourself.Have you done any deals, yet?

You should choose a farm using a data-driven approach, which includes:Choosing a farm with a favorable turnover rate (# of houses sold / # number of houses in the farm) (The higher the better - but understand what factors make up this number.The number of agents with a stronghold in that area (usually, if there are 1 or 2 agents dominating - you are going to have a harder time getting traction vs an area where many agents are performing many transactions)How big of a farm can you reasonably touch on an on-going basis (too many, and you won't be able to afford or have enough time to market, too few and you aren't casting a big enough net)Where is the market headed, directionally, in your farm - farm in the path of progressBy the way, this is where having a Title Rep will come in handy because they have the data you need to perform this analysis. 

You are going to want to draw up two more contracts- a Promissory Note (the mortgage) and a Trust Deed so that Note is secured in first position on the property so that you have proper recourse if anything goes wrong.You can get these contracts online, but do yourself a favor and talk about all these things with your Buyer ahead of time, write it down, and then go to a real estate attorney to draw up the Purchase and Sale Agreement, the Promissory Note, and the Trust Deed all at one time.