I was a little hesitant but he said he had done a lot of research on the area and checked everything out with street view and was comfortable renting it without seeing it.

There's definitely an interest-rate floor you must pay (otherwise the IRS may view the loan as a gift), but why pay 8% if they'll take 4%?

FYI the lots are on a block that has all mobile units on it, the lots have excellent mountain views with a park across the street.

Instead of viewing that as a disadvantage I view it as a blessing because I am using the time to learn every thing possible, and will hopefully avoid many mistakes by taking the time to learn from the mistakes of others.

Debt to Income - DTI - is only use on FHA, conventional, Va and other typical residential transactions (consumer front).If you're going to a portfolio lender they look at lending from a 1.25x DSCR point of view (industry standard) which in essence is a 80% Debt to Income if you think about it.1 dollar of debt / 1.25 dollars of net operating income (NOI) = 1.25 X DSCR = 80% DTI Never the less us bankers joke about it all the time because it might be crazy from a residential loan officers point of view but in the banks eyes its not from a commercial point of view.The commercial bank views income property as a consistent sustainable source of reocurring income especially in stronger rental markets so having 1.25 dollars of net income coming in for every dollar of out going debt service payment is acceptable.The mess with this 1.25x they will sometimes make you conform even while subjecting you to underwriting at higher rates, shorter amortization periods, and other income adjustments that make it harder to obtain 1.25x.

The numbers aren't always accurate, but will inform your view and you can verify once you narrow your search.

I also found a picture on Google street view from July 2007 of the house being constructed.If you move a little to the right, the image changes to October 2011 and the house is fully constructed.

Early on in my investment career I had to learn to view properties from a new perspective.

These different folks may have a whole different view on the value of the property than their foreclosure counterparts.

I'll post our experience with it once we've had a chance to view it.Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!!!