If you are doing this with 4 families, you can build a fairly large portfolio relatively quickly, and most importantly at the most favorable financing terms.

There are programs on campus dedicated to "educating" students on how if you're anything other than a white, straight male and you find yourself at some sort of disadvantage in any way, you have every right to blame the system and others and rebel because they screwed you over and failed you.I live near a district attorney whose policies apparently favor police unions.

And then you would have to convince/explain to the magistrate what the master lease is and get them to rule in your favor.

Do yourself (and your investors) a favor and consult with a securities attorney. 

Seems like with amortization it was finally starting to work in my favor (paying more principal each month than interest).   11k seems extreme to me as well, but if i plan on holding 15 years and paying off the note, the 11k would be worth it after about 36 months (as opposed to paying no points and 4.5% for 15 years).  

You can likely get favorable terms with that type of down, however, retail lending is going to rely heavily on the tenant itself.

Your mom did you a favor. 

She wants the highest price and best terms for her with the fewest possible contingencies on the offer, which she'll probably write.You want the lowest possible price on terms that are favorable to you and enough contingencies to allow you to back out and recover your deposits if your financing fails, home inspection isn't satisfactory or something else comes up in due diligence.Until you have a bunch of deals under your belt, you need an expert to guide you through the process and navigate the pitfalls. 

Assuming we get very favorable financing, it sounds like the plan would be to use all the $50k to get the best house we can in a high demand area, dont really worry about fixing it up, and then start renting it out as soon as possible?  

Texas, in general, is much more favorable for a LL.