The seller avoids foreclosure and walks away with his credit more or less intact, his mortgage paid off, and $15k in his pocket to start a new life.3.

Credit them the few days back off of rent.Sorry you are facing this and wish you well either way!

I would say that you are on the right track, but you can also buy way less risky properties.

If you have a track record of doing this, the banks or other investors would have no problem supporting you with money. 

Teaming up with your girlfriend will be great for helping each other stay on track and focused.

I'd recommend getting a few deals under your belt and to keep track of the results with the goal of using them as a confidence boost for future potential partners/private investors. 

So here is the question: if you were looking to build a portfolio of 50-100 SFR, you have 2 great W2 incomes, perfect credit, and $50k to start it with, where do you begin?

(I plan to do some remodel work in February, so would be looking for new leases to begin in March).2) The current owners are collecting September rent, which will be credited back to me at escrow, along the the 5 security deposits.  

@Lelith Walker, @Nicole Sorensen HullYou can now report  the payment history to one of the credit bureaus as an HOA payment so it shows up on thier credit report.  

I wish there was more in there to track the performance of the property (cash on cash returns etc.) but its more oriented to property managers, less to investors.