Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the banks will need even more money to shore up their damaged balance sheets and feel secure enough to lend more freely. “Our economic system is critically dependent on the free flow of credit,†he said. “More capital injections and guarantees may become necessary to ensure stability and the normalization of credit markets.†And just in case U.S. lawmakers and Barack Obama’s new administration didn’t hear clearly, Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn delivered a similar message.

At the same time, I ensure that all lease terms are agreed upon before I commit and sign the lease.

Without it, your only real option is creative financing with sellers, which can be pretty tough these days when most sellers are upside-down on their mortgages (and hence why they're trying to sell).- Find credit partners (people with credit) who will put the property loans in their name, and give them a % of the profits (or a fixed amount) for their "partnership

To add more injury to insult they asked me to provide my business and personal bank statements, to ensure that I was financially suitable to be making/receiving the type of money compared to the deposit they had on hold.

If they say no right off, keep asking for creative or out of the box solutions to get to your objective.

Any creative ideas for getting in touch with the sellers prior to hitting the marketplace?

The guys and gals who do what people have done for hundreds of years and follow normal business practice and think of creative ways to make the most money they can, there are those who read and do nothing, and there are those who are all about the flashy programs, mentors, and scams (you).

isn't the lease option a form of creative financing?

I am very creative and have my moments where I just LOVE my job.

What process can you take to ensure you dont get stuck with something you can neither sell nor rent ?