As for where to go next, you could either require that he puts 5k in escrow somewhere, so he's not as motivated to just run, or just find homes for other investors if you don't feel comfortable with it.

Danny,You should have sent the seller something in writing explains everything like how much you were going to give the seller upfront on carrying the note and let the seller know you will go through escrow so that the seller will feel comfortable dealing with you.Joe Gore

I have a met with sellers and am comfortable working with people, how ever, I am having difficulty understanding how to structure a deal with little to no equity...Any advice is much appretiated!

So, we are planning on buying enough homes that when they are paid off the rental income - expenses will allow us to live comfortably.

I don't typically dine at fast food places, so it took a lot for me to curb my fine dining meals.

Currently, buy and hold investing is really all that I feel comfortable stepping into, and I just don't fell comfortable doing so in my area.

If you are not comfortable that they are, run!

But this also gives you the ability to ask yourself, Am I comfortable with returns on the low side of that range if expenses are higher, or rents a bit lower, than I thought originally?

I'm very comfortable with it since he will be completely "by the book."

And in the future, write leases to reflect that structure.In the meantime, work on getting her out.We feel we're being underpaid anyway for the unit, but have kept them on as we were dealing with crap from the other 2 floors for the past few months.It's a 1400+ sq ft 3-bedroom unit, 9 foot ceilings, tile kitchen w/ custom solid wood cabinetry, separate pantry, W/D hookups in laundry, pergo living room and dining room, all bedrooms beautiful original hardwood.She pays $950Comparable units go for a good bit more in our area.