I was talking with my mom, who suggested that a picky HOA could restrict who else lives in the townhome besides the owner occupant.

A: Those restrictions apply if you are trying to fit under the exclusion to the originator rule as a seller financer.

If the MH is in a park, the parks generally restrict rentals, and sometimes restrict who you can sell it to. 

These techniques have been taught for years, but I don't know of any guru who has updated their material to incorporate the new restrictions imposed by the new law. 

You have to tell me, but let's say it's $1,000If I'm a buy and hold investor looking for positive monthly cash flow of at least 10% per year, I need to make a net profit of $125 per month if I were to pay off the existing $55K mortgage using a conventional 20% down mortgage, 6% APR based on the following:Mortgage owed: $55K20% down = $11K + closing costs = required investment (say $15K)10% ROI on investment = $1,500/year = $125/monthNew mortgage owed: $11K with a monthly payment of $386 principle and interestEstimate taxes and insurance at $175/month based on 3%/year of market valueMonthly PITI cost: $561/monthOther property management costs: $200/monthTotal monthly cost: $761/monthMonthly rent: $1,000Monthly profit: $239/month = 19% ROIInvestor is looking for 10%, so you give the investor $125 and you split the rest of the monthly profit between you and the seller ($114/month)Takes 175 months (over 14 years) for you and the seller to make $20K, but you've made a deal where you've sold house so there's no mortgage on the seller's credit (didn't do subject to or seller finance), there's no out of pocket costs for you or the seller, you both have monthly income for the life of the mortgage and you can actually create second and third mortgages against the property to secure your position, so if the new buyer sells, you must be paid your $15K and $5K respectively.There are a whole bunch of assumptions that you will need to verify and tighten, but the concept I am trying to show is that you can always make a deal even when there doesn't look like one. 

There are serious restrictions on the use of the Ellis Act and it is in effect to essentially let an owner to take an option to go out of business (the rental business).  

On the first option, are there any restrictions...as I see it, the objective is to get a tenant to pay principal and assume the difference of the payment and what is due owner...And does it make any sense to put personal capital into this property: i.e. do I have incentive to rehab this place to rental status...

As of right now, there are no restrictions on BUYING a property as an investor using creative financing, such as subject-to's.What the Dodd-Frank Act does is provide protection to a buyer who is being foreclosed or evicted after they bought a house using any type of creative financing (land contract, rent-to-own, owner financing, etc)If in the future you are considering selling that house using owner financing, rent-to-own or a land contract; you need to follow these three criteria: There should not be a  balloon in the note (meaning it must be fully-amortizing)The interest rate is fixed for at least five years, andYou “qualify” your buyer.Remember, you should consult with a qualified attorney in your state whenever you sell a house using any type of creative financing.Let me know if you have additional questions.Hope this helps :)Liz [email protected]

The cash on hand is enough for 20~25% down payment and my expected monthly income will be more than enough to cover PITI.The trouble is that a significant percentage (nearly 50%) of this income will be coming from future sales of RSU (restricted stock units).

We have similar development restrictions in Mo.