He confided to me that the properties were free and clear and many of them he actually built.

You can say you are self-managing and cost are only 40% but you are buying yourself a job so when you resale the new buyer will also have to self manage because if they use a PM you will be at 50%.

Your profession can be a huge source of private money for deals through self directed IRA's.Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthereCheck out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice.

Even if it hurts your credit, you are likely looking at a few years to build up credit once you become self-employed in real estate, anyway, so you could be doing it all at once, clearing the slate instead of hanging onto a loss, unless the market is returning to that condo area and you see it appreciating enough to get you out of it soon without a short sale.

You did say you had an inspection, do you have confidence that the inspector was thorough?

In your case you wouldn't even be self-employed, just unemployed.

Timothy what Ryan is referring to is "self-help eviction".

I would be all for lowering the price if I was confident that it would bring out more people.

We specifically need help deciphering the rules behind self-directed IRAs and borrowing from a 401k.Thanks for the help.Michelle

I've not yet been able to be fully 100% self-employed for the long-term, but, the good times that I've had being self-employed were some of the best times of my life.