Also, I suspect that going to battle over keeping them in the lease would just cost more in legal fees than it would recover and would not improve the situation.Would appreciate any suggestions on minimizing/eliminating breaking of lease in the future.

This is a basic layout of what's happening in my head, but I'm wondering if I'm oversimplifying things:At Year 0:Value - $150,000Debt - $100,000Equity - $50,000At Year 1:Value - $156,000 (assuming 4% appreciation)Debt - $98,653 (30 yr. @ 5.50%)Equity - $57,347At Year 2:Value - $162,240 (again assuming 4% appreciation)Debt - $97,230Equity - $65,010My question is, is it possible at the end of year 2 to expect to be able to cash-out refi at ~80% of the equity ($52,008) I have in the property and recoup my original investment?

. $300-$350k seems to be the range of house that meets my criteria in this area.The only problem is that with my debt to income ratio (student loans and a car payment) I can only qualify for about $250k.Running the numbers I know that I would live for free and even cash flow a small amount on a property, but of course mortgage companies don't look at this when lending. 

My wife and I have great credit scores and a decent debt-to-income.More details:Seller originally wanted to set everything up through their lawyer since the property is in a trust.

@Bentley Cox I don't have loans I'm not in a lot of debt I've been educating myself in real estate investment I'm studying right now to get my broker's license I've been educating myself in real estate for almost a year now I just got a new job that's going to pay me more money in the long run it's an all year work around I'm just eager to get started so I do understand why you want to get started cuz I'm in the same boat as you my name is Aaron

If you own any real estate, equity, derivatives, commodities, or even debt - The ownership on these assets is more than likely to be recorded on a distributed ledger (blockchain) and be represented by security tokens.But hey, don’t take my word for it.

Not sure where your located but its a gamble to rent and wait.. its only 6k negative a year that's not bad.But if having that debt precludes you from other investments then sometimes its best to cut and run..

To begin with, ask if the investment is a debt or equity. 

The FHA loan cap is about at the median price now, so that will eliminate a lot of houses too.

If it were the only way i could jump start into real estate then i think i would consider a $25k loan or something to put down on a $100k property - but since i'll have a little money to get going next year I'm going to be patient and for now just learn and pay off the little bit of debt i have.