Yes, the government pays the Section 8 rent timely, but more and more tenants are having to pay a portion of their rent.

I asked if there was anything else we could try, he got very angry and demanded I pay him in full.

Imagine making millions of dollars over the course of your career and then having to pay 30-50% every year to uncle sam instead of compounding that cash over time.This is exactly what real estate professionals have learned to mitigate.To reduce their taxable income, they just buy a building every year, do a cost seg, and use depreciation to reduce their tax liability dramatically.Their personal wealth snowball grows much larger and much faster than their W2 counterparts who give most of their money back to the government each year.Following this strategy as a real estate professional is one of best ways to end up with a much larger net worth at the end of your career.

https://app.tango.us/app/workflow/BiggerPockets-free-Short-T...The only way to truly stay up to date on your local rules is to pay attention to your local county/city council meetings and how you can participate.

If it is not adding up, and you can find an attorney specializing in that type of thing, it may be worth paying for a little of their time.

The hang up is getting deals formally drawn up.One idea:- I buy the property and pay 25% DP, then they provide capital after the closing and I pay them P&I over 5-10 years.

Finding tenants to pay your bills is the hard part.

Regarding your other questions:  - If the going value is $260/SF, why would you pay more than that?  

My experience in Massachusetts, where it took nearly a year to evict a non-paying tenant, has made me more selective about the locations I invest in.I am looking forward to learning and sharing insights with this community! 

Because, for instance, if I am flipping a couple of properties and I am in the middle of the rehab, but it will take a couple of months for them to get finished and sold, I may be paying $4000 on hard money debt payments per month, and if that debt is included in whether or not I will qualify for a refinance, then I may not qualify.