Recently online poker has been shut down to US players and is having legal issues so I have retired from that and don't consider it a fixed/stable income anymore.2) Land contract.

Most of the big players in this market have large portfolios in many states.

You may have to seek out privtae money lenders (perhaps IRA owners) or perhaps find a local bank whom you will likely need to start doing business with and then request a portfolio loan where you can lump multiple properties into one loan package.Yes, you should be hunting for long term funding now rather than later.

Instead they just want to get the pain over with as quickly as possible.You also have to find a bank that is motivated and doesn't want the property (shopped) listed by the seller to fully expose multiple offers and compete with other investors.This is why many people wholesale.They make a few k on a marginal deal and let other investors take the high risk.Then they only buy when they get a really good deal for themselves.I would say "Do not get emotionally attached to this deal and overpay because you wanted to BUY SOMETHING" Instead just treat it as a property and if someone overpays for your goals then move on to the next.Remember it is easy to build a crap portfolio with marginal returns.It is much,much harder to build long term quality properties at a great price that will create generational wealth for the your family.

Day 37 - I send out highest and best multiple offers, and get 6 more offers in.Day 40 - I get a cash offer under contract, and bank approves the contract price.

Nobody seems to really know.I have seen that banks seem to be pricing REOs low enough they generate multiple bids.

As far away as you are willing to drive multiple times per month if needed.For me thats about 15-20 minutes max but I really like the ones that are 5-10 minutes.

And I say that as someone who has owned multiple properties within my IRA.

Yes you have to analyze multiple factors James.For instance in Chicago how long does it take to evict??

(this is usually NOT the best course of action)All the attorney will do is hire a collection company that has more bark than bite and rarely collects any money.The other option is to use a judgement recovery company.They usually pay the court costs and filing fees and then split 50/50 of whatever they recover.Sometimes they will buy the judgement outright for real cheap.In this case you get your cash right away and move on.Judgements depending on the smarts of the tenant can take 3 months to years to collect.Some tenants are judgement proof.This can happen when:1.The funds are retirement funds in a bank or social security where money can't be taken.2.The tenant works a job where their income is at a level where they cannot be garnished by Federal Law.Even when you can garnish you can only take 25% each time.If their are other judgements already garnishing then the 25% gets split up among the garnishments.85% of judgements never collect a dime because of the work involved.Even if the judgement company you employ chases the tenants for money the tenant may pay or they might just file BK if they have other debts.A chapter 7 costs thousands so it would depend on their other total debts and how much your judgement is for.This is why it is important to carefully screen tenants.They need to have good credit,a good job with long work history,etc. or something where you know you can collect if they default.If you have multiple tenants staying in one place and they all make minimum wage it will be hard to collect on them later versus one person showing great income.Hope it helps.