Our posts crossed so I was not aware that your mother was fine with both options (payoff now or installment payments).As Jeremy posted, it now mostly becomes a math game regarding what is in your best interest but I would still weigh the value of 'making good' on the original loan from your mother.

I have seen a lot of this one BP were investors have no clue as to the repercussions of being a junior.. its OK if you know what your doing .. but for the average investor who has never lent money or new to the game junior position investing is highly risky for exactly the reasons splained above.  

I am new to this investing game.

@Danny Webber thank you I appreciate the truth and if I need to take more time building my cash pile to have more skin in the game by maybe wholesaling or just working than that's fine.

what are the consistencies you are noticing with your selections?

Hi - completely new to the game of rental real estate.

Judging from the first few pages of the beginner's guide, I think we're looking at possibly doing some buy and hold strategies on single family homes and duplex/triplex/quads, since we both love our jobs and aren't quite ready to jump into the real estate game full time.The amount of information to read up on and understand is dizzying, and I have never so much as held a mortgage of my own. 

Lenders want you as an owner to have "Skin in the game".

Also depends if you want to cash out your purchase + rehab cash.If you mortgage it, you’re looking at the down payment and rehab costs.If you use the echo sting HELOC to find the purchase and rehab, you can then Refi the house once rented and (assuming you selected a property with room for forced appreciation) get all your cash back out (up to 80%) LTV.The later is the BRRRR strategy.

For the most part it doesn't matter and is purely a numbers game, but you will probably have less competition if you avoid the absentee owner lists as that is seemingly everyone's first stop.