Equity at Closing (from buying at a discount)3.

Unless you just have large amounts of cash that you are okay with putting into essentially a high yield savings account, then you will have to find property at lower discounts than that to be successful in the long term with rentals.

I explained to him that I sell at a discount so I don't have to negotiate.

when i start buying houses at steep discounts, this becomes very questionable.

Well this property is an excellent discounted property but does not work in the typical investor's formula (that I work with).So I can't wholesale it but it is a good retail deal.

As a lender, where he has the deep pockets to provide the funds or as a broker?

This would generally be a house that is rented or rent-ready with very little if any repairs needed.For a rehab deal, it depends on how deep I can secure it for, and keeping in mind my buyer wants to get it at 70% or less (all in) if they are going to take on the rehab.

Regardless of what the real estate market is doing, you MUST buy at a discount if you want to succeed with rentals.

This is how you find deals at 30% or more discounts from "market price".Now about which segment of the market to concentrate in:If you had $200K to invest you could buy (4) $50K houses, (2) $100K houses, or (1) $200K houses.

Then of course, the interest rates are higher making it more expensive to own the property.In an area that is not doing well, or declining I would be very cautious about the price I would give and look for deeper discounts for sure, to make sure the numbers work!