I am of course biased towards wholesaling, but there are multiple ways to make money with little or no money.Now I would also recommend you take some time and think about what you are wanting to get out of investing long term.

There are multiple types of contingencies.

I am pretty new to real estate investing myself, but I am quickly learning that there are multiple ways to invest in real estate regardless of the current market where you live.

Do you sign a contract with them now that gets them engaged the day I close on the property?

Perhaps you are referring to the listing Realtor and not someone who you hired to help you find a home.The problem from a conventional financing standpoint is that you have multiple residences on one legal description which makes this a multi-family property beyond the "normal" 1-4 unit residences acceptable to conventional lenders. 2)What is typically done to avoid making a down-payment and/or paying closing costs.If you are asking specific to this property, there probably is no 100% financing option available so you may have to pass on this one.Generally speaking there are many programs for little or no down-payment and you should be talking to a mortgage lender about what you can afford and qualify for prior to looking at homes.As for closing costs, you may qualify for city or county down-payment assistance programs (which are more typically used for closing costs instead of down-payment).

If you want to put all of your investing energies into one arena of investing only (instead of investing in multiple types of real estate), then in the long run, again you are not going to last.Real estate has been called the "best way to get rich slowly" and if you think about it, it is the literal truth.

The 3 property rule usually means that the investor ends up acquiring one larger property and the 200% rule generally means the investor ends up acquiring multiple smaller properties that add up to a great amount, but the tax advantage is the same either way.

Remember, notes are sold every day in bundles of multiple millions of dollars, they are a standard financial instrument, just like government and corporate notes and bonds.The money comes when you buy a note at a DISCOUNT sufficient enough to earn you an ABOVE MARKET RETURN.

By purchasing multiple homes/complexes and renting them out?

I work for RealtyTrac and provide solutions for distressed homeowners nationwide that need to sell their property quickly for one of the following reasons:Relocation, Juggling multiple mortgages, Behind on payments, Divorce, Military transfer, soon-to-be expired listing, Don't want to deal with repairs needed, Estate sales.Please contact me if you are able to handle 10+ deals per year and have experience and systems in place to handle any of the following situations:Wholesale- Rehab DealsSubject to Contract /DeedRental/lease optionsShort SalesCash offersMy goal is to find a skilled investor who can help the distressed homeowner in a timely manner and has the systems in place to transact quickly.