Hey Lawrence,As it relates to traditional financing...As far as I know a NOO (Non Owner Occ) investment property is going to require 20%-25% down depending on the lender.You could however:#1 Get a partner on the next property (ie their borrowing ability + your cash)or#2 Live in your current duplex for at least 1 full year then I believe you can get FHA lending on the next property if you intend to move into that as your primary residence.

Sounds like you have some good connections and some good experience although not directly related to owning and buying real estate.

Don't spend so much time getting even with the realtor/seller that it gets in the way of your objective as a real estate investor.

Fair housing laws state:If you or someone associated with you:Have a physical or mental disability (including hearing, mobility and visual impairments, chronic alcoholism, chronic mental illness, AIDS, AIDS Related Complex and mental retardation) that substantially limits one or more major life activitiesHave a record of such a disability orAre regarded as having such a disabilityyour landlord may not:Refuse to let you make reasonable modifications to your dwelling or common use areas, at your expense, if necessary for the disabled person to use the housing.

I would love some objective outside opinion here.

If I was in your shoes, I would want to be present whenever the handyman is on or in any of my properties (especially if theft or violence related), which would be a real pain.

Great alternative for wealthy relatives….· Any person may pledge assets on behalf of borrower· Refinances – instead of liquidating assets to pay down the mortgage so you can refinance, pledge assets instead.· Complete flexibility to trade the assets…the borrower can continue to buy and sell stocks within the asset portfolio….· Assets may remain at borrower’s own financial institution (BofI Lending would be added as a creditor/beneficiary) or they may be deposited into BOFI Federal Bank.· Available on all scenarios; all products, occupancy types, property types, Interest Only, etc., and may be used in conjunction with Asset Depletion.· 10% down with no Mortgage Insurance and loan amounts up to $5,000,000 or more….· No charge to lock - $250 admin fee is the only cost of this program.· Compensation is paid out based on the higher loan amount Sample scenario of a loan · Transaction Type: Purchase· Purchase Price: $2,500,000· Loan Amount: $2,000,000· Property Type: SFR· Assets: $2,000,000· LTV: 50%· Effective LTV: 80% (with pledge)

Some of the lessons learned are shared in this article, and I want to share those lessons related to the financing of the purchase.Financing is always the biggest piece of the puzzle in commercial real estate.

Give that is a townhouse, the association will take care of all exterior related issue so it is a safe distance investment in my personal opinion.

From my perspective, it's not just about ensuring that you are legally allowed to invest and that you are able to proper publicly recorded title to a property, it's also about all of the other laws indirectly related to owning the property (ie. the court system, environmental laws, tenant/landlord laws, business laws, etc, etc).