Quote from @LaShon Evans: Looking to get started this spring with the purchase of my first SFH for a LTR situation. 

@Daniel GrantzRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Quote from @Brandon Le: Your first purchase could/should be a house hack.

The buyer ended up buying and reconverting to a single family, and doubled his purchase price.Yeah, that's actually a really good and in-the-now viable strategy. 

And I don't think anyone else will be able to get a loan if you decide to sell it in the future - which obviously impacts its value.Yes, you can do Conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA loans to purchase existing or new manufactured homes. 

I'm looking at monthly cost to seller vs. anticipated rental income, purchase price relevant to the ARV of the area and interest rate, balloon, etc.

Hey Cameron, for experienced investors I can lend up to 100% of the purchase and rehab costs on 1-4 unit properties.

Is it better to have a willing seller and buyer before sending the initial purchase/sale agreement?

In Columbus Ohio, you can still find deals that hit the 1% rule anywhere from $120-180k purchase price.

The substitute of collateral was more of a scenario where you sold for $155K, and instead of paying off the $88K loan in your scenario, those funds stayed at the title company and were used on a cash purchase happening nearby in date.