This is not to minimize your impressive TK sales accomplishments, but lets face it....if Cali was not doing so well in RE....you could have much less business as you noted.

In addition to having some extra money at the end of college, he learned how to take care of a house and although he is not pursuing real estate investment now, he is more prepared than most.I am currently in a similar situation (graduate student with a minimal stipend).

My idea was to buy and hold the 2 properties by paying extra on principal on one and the very minimal on the other.

Is it the best option when you have very minimal to come out of pocket?

My investor (family member) is very anxious to get in and out of this property quickly and wants me to do the absolute minimal possible and throw it back on the market.

Thus was a tough pill to swallow but it was a lesson learned.

There is no magic pill, if credits of any kind are credited to a sale price it is a financing agreement

In my experience they've put rubber socks over the meter leads and put it back in place, which is minimal protection from the situation above.

In order to be successful in this realm....the key is MANAGEMENT. there are very specific ways things must be done in order to maximize return while minimizing headache.

The pros are: everything is done for you, minimal time/effort required, I think they are smarter because they have a lot of expertise built into them that I would never have on my own, and you can easily own in multiple markets.