What sort of pitch or marketing can I use to get the attention of smaller flippers, the guys who use bird-dogs or  MLS listed properties to make money? 

The widow is in poor health, and the son is focused on taking care of his mother. no current income/expense data.

This isn't legal advice, and I don't have a real-world example, but some coverage issues to pay attention to might include injuries to common law employees, injuries involving liquor, and punitive damages for gross negligence.Keep in mind that umbrella insurance policies are negotiated contracts like any other insurance policy.

Chances are, they won't care, because in all likelihood $120k won't cut it anyway]. 

Be careful to not use owner occupied products/programs for investor properties.  

We'll probably begin seriously looking after the holidays and be ready to invest sometime in the spring/summer of next year... we have my son's wedding to take care of first. 

HiJust random mortgage finance guy recommended from my current realtor who is newbie/told me that offer we put in was accepted by the selling agent and needed proof of pre-approval to move forward.Finance guy told me over the phone that whether I get the loan for $20,000.00 or 300,000.00  it will end up costing me around $3500.00, meaning even if I use my $50K cash I still need the whole loan process to get the rest of money. again, that is why I posted the question that if it would be smarter to just get the HELOC(which I need more time to get it approved) or traditional loan with benefits. at the same time, I did not want the seller to get a better offer over the weekendHad I thought this through, I would have gone to my bank and got all this taken care prior to putting an offer....plus my newbie realtor told me that it's all good, no worries, your credit score is so high... but I needed the proof of my loan approved real quick but everything was closed over the weekends.

Someone moves a dresser, or bed, scrapes it, they won't care... sorry, mark my words, accidents happen at any income!   

Advice: Treat it like a business as much as you can, even though house-hacking can feel like a hobby, stay organized, and take care of your property and your tenants (pride of ownership, people notice this), for all properties but especially for househacks.I definitely think the pros outweigh the cons, especially folks with flexibility of time and lifestyle.

No one cares about your money like you do. 3)  Discuss expectations with your JV partner.