Can it simply be explained away or will it be viewed strictly as debt and, thus, negatively go against me?

@Jason Howell the basic answer to our question is they simply did the  math wrong$1,700,000 X 5.11% = $86,870The link you supplied did not take  me to a specific property.

This should not be viewed as losing friends simply making new ones. 

When the title company, escrow agent or attorney prepares the closing documents, they simply factor in the second mortgage payoff amount into the final distribution of funds to the seller.A second mortgage should have little or no effect on a homeowner's ability to sell her home.

They simply made that representation when I talked to them. 3) They were the ones that called it an investment:).

I like offering up suggestions, opinions, information, etc on other threads, however I have never started a post simply to share information.

I think a lot of people are simply not equipped to think of themselves as anything other than a success in life, and anything that challenges that assumption or the external appearance of it is to be avoided at all cost.In the end, this is what vanity does to people, it turns them into fragile things unable to grapple with the crippling fear of being revealed to the world but also to themselves as less than perfect, as most definitely NOT good enough, as "losers" and "failures" and "second-raters" and all the words the most vain among us use for those they think they're a million times better than.Being able to laugh at yourself and your pretensions is a gift and a great liberation of the spirit.

I love being a private lender but the fact that it simply increases my taxable income makes me consider shifting some of my note portfolio to multi-family perhaps...You might find this discussion beneficial where similar question is raised: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/604...Owning notes in your retirement account (especially self-directed Roth IRA or Roth Solo 401k) is ideal since you can have tax-free income for the rest of your life if you utilize one of these vehicles. 

Direct Mail is a really great way to attempt to get deals from owners, sometimes with seller financing which can be great for conserving cash (if they don't gouge you on rate!).

He simply covers the mortgage for the property.