Hi Nicholas, Just want to thank you for starting this thread because I also am a newbie and I'm thinking along the same lines as you are as to my approach to getting into REI.I'm very pleased to see the incredible amount of response you've gotten on this forum and am encouraged by the other members here.I am curious and would like to ask the others if there is a REI club in the Tampa Bay area?

Here are some of the key stats:Purchase Price: $2.8MUnits: 100Unit Mix:50 3bed/2bath's @ $580/month50 2bed/2's @ $425/monthFinancing Approach:80% Bank20% 10% down payment10% seller financing @5% with a 5 year balloonConservative Annual Financials Financials:-15% vacancy-Rent potential: $618,000-Property Taxes: $30,000-Insurance: $21,000-Maintenance / Repairs: $60,000-Water / Utilities: $68,000-Advertising: $4,500-Property Management: $52,530 (management fee and employee salaries)-Garbage and Recycling: $15,000-Landscaping / Pest Control: $18,000-Security: $5,000In summary:-$525,300 gross income-$273,030 total expenses-$177,396 (5%) annual mortgageoFirst 5 years: Seller financing repayment on 10% of purchase price @ 5% interest rateOpportunities:-Sub metered, but water is covered by current owner (~$55k)-Increase rent on 2/2's to $485We would love to hear your thoughts on the good, the bad, and the things we haven't considered or simply answer any questions that you have.

I suppose the smart approach is to shut-up & get on with completing the mod-package asap so as to get the process started.

I would approach it as a math problem:1).

@Alec Saenz,Check the local government tax assesor's website to see if you can find out more information about the property, maybe even the owner's name.If you can get the owner information, you can take the approach of sending a handwritten letter asking the owner if he/she is willing to sell the house. 

How do you approach a house you’re going to live in.We are getting ready to bid on a property that instead of renting we are thinking about living in for a few year (5-7).It will be a rental till my husband retires form the military (2 yr) and then may become a rental if we move on.The house is in a good location.The neighborhood is older, but the homes are being revived.

@Ryan Toth  my arrival to Charleston was quite by accident but it did not take a 2 by four to the head to figure out what was going on.I was first approached with doing 4  fix and flip short term loans.. form one of my very OLD time clients of 15 years..

But we've approached a wealthy friend who is very interested in being our bank to secure good lien deals.

I'm going to practice your "finding people behind on their taxes approach. 

That's come up on the forum countless times.