The lender is said to hold legal title, the borrower is said to hold equitable title.It the case of a land contract interest in real estate, like a car, the vendor (lender) holds legal title and the vendee (borrower) holds equitable title.In the case of a fee simple interest in real estate, which is what everybody is referring to in this thread, the lender holds neither legal nor equitable title, the borrower (fee simple owner) holds both.Take a look at one of those title reports one your mortgage broker desk, it will show owner/borrower with a fee simple interest in the property.Although there are similarities between cars and re, they are quite different.Hope I said that right.

If you decide to go with college rentals get co signers and decent security deposits, Dont forget the credit check and condition reports they are important.

I was unhappy- the appraiser said she'd finish the report up using 2200 sq ft, but they'd need the permits (which don't exist)-- we're now talking to the county about getting the house inspected and getting it squared away but it's turning into a nightmare.

Niki,I have SFRs in Fort Worth and the numbers look good to me, but I would ask more questions: Is there an inspection report?

Take a look at some mortgage fraud news stories.

A buy and hold real estate one would likely not pay off reported income as depreciation would greatly reduce the return to the investor...

Another possibility is it was a rental property and the renters reported the mold which led to the city looking into it.

One thing I am doing differently this time is instead of going through just Smart Move service, I am getting a full background check done for about 10 bucks more where they will check rental history, employment history and credit report plus score.

On income property its different if its smaller its a headache and requires management but larger projects often hands off just a check in the mail and a cam report to go through every month.

Note that it takes awhile for a non-paying loan to be declared defaulted (up to 6 months) and trigger reporting to the IRS.