-Owners don't want to hurt their credit (short sale, foreclosure, etc. are other options for them but will destroy their credit).

Some houses I look at have liens from 2006 to current so I am guess if the lien holder wanted to foreclose they would have but they might not see any reason to foreclose as they wont make more than a few thousand on the property sale.

With the news that BoA is selling fewer mortgages to Fannie and Freddie, maybe Obama is trying to slowly get them out of the mortgage business to cater to the moderates.Also, wont' this hurt home values by adding rentals to neighborhoods that may otherwise be mostly owner-occupied.

Corrupt Contractor, and retarded tenants that are destroying my property.

If I send out a hundred a week and only one or two come back then I won;t be concerned.

However when I started to try to get my ducks in a row I was informed that in MI you cannot flip a house for 60 days and the titiel companies wont touch an assignment of contract.Any advice to a comrade looking to stand proud again?

I'd like to get some of this money out and invest it in to a multiunit property (seems like there are great deals out there) but I'm nervous that I wont be able to find a mortgage because I don't meet the lending standards of most banks.

I have cash and great credit, the issue is....banks wont finance me unless I have 1-2 years of rental income in my current unit.

If you are talking about getting financing and buying something near market value, you are commiting suicide and you wont last long.

I do believe it is much harder for young people today -- college is the new high school as Cheryl said, and to compete today, it's practically the minimum requirement, but if not done sensibly, it can destroy their lives for years to come.