My wife does not work and we have a good amount of "stupid" debt (credit cards/hospital bills/student loans) and not very much in savings and fair credit.

All the online sites are so misleading, since they pull their comps from recent sales but never ever consider the features and amenities of any specific property.

I've been browsing this forum for years and listened to countless podcasts and I purchased 2 books by J.Scott who seems to be the father figure here in BP.I feel like the only way I can finally "get it" us by doing it, but the problem is I live in SoCal and with my savings and my income, no bank would offer me a loan needed to flip a house... 

I still work in education, the salary helps me out qualifying for mortgages and I can save all of my cash flow and build up my reserves.

I would suggest doing it as a flat fee listing and not offering the selling agent anything, just use it as another place online for tenant/buyers to find you.

I was searching for a step by step typical outlined process online somewhere, but couldn't find anything.  

No agent needed, that would save him AND you money!

So far, I think I've run across these recommendations on who should do doc prep:* the title company * a licensed broker * you ( the lender )...grab a DOT/Mortgage and PNote online!

Why not just save all of the cash flow, add your personal savings to it and use this to save enough for a downpayment on a multifamily property?

Specific wording in a contract isn't necessarily going to save you either.