Not that there is anything wrong with the members here, but this is a forum for committed investing DIYers who know what they want to do and how they want to go about doing it.

Terms were 90% LTV, 5% interest (he is happy to get more than 1-2% in CDs) and a five year balloon (He is not interested in commiting to longer than that at this stage if his life right now).

Thanks @Jd Martin and @Peter T. too for the advice!

Warmly,Guy T.

suspect you WON"T get title insurance we buy in some states were the redemption period is long and we only sell for cash on quit claims.. which narrows the field substantially and your buying most deals ( and these are homes) for 10 to 40k each.. so risk is not great.Yes a buyer will have great issues from having to wait a year to 5 years... there in Yuba city go over to Marysville or even Yuba city and walk into fidelity or first American and talk to a title officer these are the folks who will let you know company policy that is if your buying in that county.. if its Colusa or Nevada or some other California county contact title company in the county every county will have a different position on this.and like I said earlier if you have really no standing in the industry IE you have never really closed a deal with them .. your not doing any volume etc.. there is little chance they will take a risk for a 400 dollar title policy fee..

So down to the question:I know new development is a bigger undertaking and WAY more work (which I'm willing to fully commit to) but is it too much for a beginner to get started with?

By introducing myself I made myself commit to going to the local REIA to meet one of the people I met on BP.

Many people come on trying to find a mentor, but, being a mentor is a huge commitment, and they're not readily available.

Don;t go for the 100% split no training route. 

There's nothing wrong with that because everyone's situation and time commitment is different but, that would be wrong for you especially if you've already went through the process of owning rentals.