@Ray Loveless, you bet.

Especially for flipping, I bet you can find a diamond in the rough out there. 

This is in line with my thinking when investors self identify for a 506(b) offering. 

If I ever buy in the L.A. market you can bet I would hire her again as my agent. 

@Michael J Martinez  I think your smartest bet would be to talk to a couple banks about a HELOC and about a new mortgage.

In the previous example I just cut the tree down and had roto rooter clean the line out one final time.

@Raul R.I am not an expert in short-term rental rules in NYC.My understanding is that it can only be deemed legal if the host does it in an apartment that is deemed commercial and below 4 stories.With that - I take it that anyone doing a STR in a building 4 stories or more is illegal.Furthermore - people who are doing a STR in a building 4 stories or less where the building is not deemed commercial - then it is illegal.A lot of people are playing outside those white lines.

It looks like I would be a good option for saving the FHA for further down the line and not being confined to the smaller pool of areas where there is no income limits.As for locations - I've been looking in Centennial, Englewood, Arvada, Berkeley for the time being.

I have asked other friends who farm the area and they say the cash rent we get for the land is in line with what normal crop leases are in the area. 

Your best bet is to sit down with a loan officer and discuss your plans  - they will be able to tell  exactly what you can and cannot do  - you may also want to consider getting prequalified so you know how much you can buy and what your payments would be - this is especially useful in running your numbers to see if a property will cash flow or not.