Also, if you plan to finance non-owner occupied residential properties or lease/options, you need to be compliant with the SAFE Act and state law.

I've Actually been looking at houses online for over a year before I got one.

All you usually need is the purchase and sales contract and a assignment contract.You can can get these from online "how to wholesale" websites, or you can create your own contracts, or you can just have an attorney create them for you.

A great and lazy bunch of them seem to think they can put a few ads online and on paper, get their names and reputations out and about at the sellers expense, and then just sit there and wait for the phone to ring and the commissions to come in.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/foreclosure/sc-cons-0913-strategic-default-20120913,0,4134066.story

I think it is particularly interesting how they indicate that they will pursue you for "abusing"...

HUD bidding is all done online, so the agent cannot be in cahoots with anybody who's a buyer as far as getting bids accepted.

If you are holding less than a year you would get hit with short term gains.If you hold for a years time you would get hit with long term capital gains.If you defer the gains with a 1031 after holding a year and selling to the city then you will not pay anything if done correctly.While there is no rule on 1031's case law and 1031 companies site 1 year as being safe to do a 1031.Anything less than that and the IRS has been challenging you are holding for resale purposes and not investment purposes.Simply have the city purchase after your 1st year of ownership is up if you want to avoid the gains taxes and do a 1031.

Besides the online courses and textbook, I think a really good prep book is the "real estate license exam, for dummies."

If you own it in your own name as an "investment" property, the SAFE act has limited the lenders who are available.

Thanks dale I was going to market online, but looking for other sources