We ended up with about 10 properties by age 30.At one point I got some unsecured lines because I had proof of a history of success.

I know this is history.. but you did have certain market conditions that really escalated this. and it was regional.. if we look back 70% of the mortgage problems were in 10 or so states.NV AZ FLA  Central CA  had rampant speculation.. you had people buying 3, 4 , 5 homes that should no way have qualified and the idea was that in 6 months they would sell and make 50k  that became a falling knife with nothing to hold It up.

I have meet some of the top investors in our nation and in the history of investing, and there is a few universal truths to them all; they believed in themselves, what they were doing, where they were going and busted there azz despite everyone saying they were wrong and crazy....

Yes, you pay more in interest, but keep in mind, at the lowest rates in history, you actually pay less than when intent rates were at 7%.

I think the service costs around $2.50 and it gives their property history along with known phone numbers.

I thought getting approved would be a no brainer since I have a score of 707, but according to them all I have a LIMITED CREDIT HISTORY!!!

But like Dawn said; if they are long term; have a good payment history and communicate up front then the pros can outweigh the cons.

You will use 75% of the rental income for the first two years you hold the property to establish the true cost of the property, after its been on two tax returns it goes to actual income/expense per your return.One thing I'm confused on, I have heard you have to have two years history owning rentals to count rental income, I have no idea if that is true or not

If you can get that and a contractors shows good pay history with the companies he buys from thats a good start.

FHA is 2 years but there is no straight rule on BK requiring 640 fico it just depends on the investor/bank/lender.I can do BK in 2 years (with ext circumstances 1 yr after CH7 but this is very hard to qualify for) for CH 7 with ficos down to 580 if the borrower has "re-established credit with no lates in the last 12 months and/or since the BK occurred,"Its ideal to setup up to 3 tradelines (credit cards, installment loans, or other) just to show good payment history of 12+ months to show the lender that you are now managing credit responsibly ever since the BK.Some banks can go down to 500 fico's (not us) so its possible FHA and VA have no real "credit score," requirement per say but lenders impose these.