I guess it depends on your situation, and what you need to rely on in the future.

I gather from your posts that owning lots of RE and relying on RE as your primary source of income is not something you have planned for your future.

Better to take a little time and get it all taken care of on the front end rather than entering into a fight and relying on the idea that you will win.

The lender could decide that your deal doesn't meet their qualifications, the lender could go out of business, the lender could run out of money, etc.If you are relying on someone else to provide the cash (even if it's your best friend, your brother, your parents, etc), it's not a cash deal, as the cash is not guaranteed to be in your account when you need it to be.Your agent did the right thing...and as Jon alluded to, with many cash offers, you'll be required to put 10% of the purchase price down as earnest money -- can you afford to do that?

If the entire property is vacant you don't have to worry about inheriting bad tenants but you also don't have instant income and have to rely on the seller's claims and your knowledge of the rental market to determine what the income will be.Banks don't dislike landlording per se, investment properties represent higher risk than OO so they charge a premium.

This is off-topic from this thread, and you didn't ask, but I'm going to say it anyway:I hope you're not taking any investing advice or relying on any analysis from your agent -- he's not a very good investor if he's losing money on 30% of his deals.

Getting going might be a little tough though as I imagine this area is fiercely competitive.Since you are closely connected to the area then you would do well relying on your own contacts.

So, don't rely on this to pass any real estate exams -- but it should give you a basic idea of the process.Hope that helps.

But, running a true business and relying on that business 100% for your income is hard work and takes money.

I wouldn't sign anything except a month-to-month lease, and I wouldn't give a security deposit, because the landlord in this case can't be relied on to make timely repairs, nor can they be trusted to return a deposit.