Then I'm usually back home to finish some administrative details, exercise in between and then off to city hall or county recorder's office (only one, the WORST one in customer service, isn't online - the other 3 that I use are all online).

But as I understand it all of these options (any tax preferred investment vehicle) restricts your access to any of that money until the age of restriction within that vehicle.  

There is a procedure and form that the customer has to fill out and submit with their Money Order stub.

I prefer 30 years to get lower payments and higher cash flow.

I prefer to start in the town I know best and can easily manage potential properties myself due to my lack of experience and wish for higher margins by doing the work myself.

You send them the customer and supply the funds and home, and they make and care for the loan.Given the change in rules this year, the use of MLOs and Mortgage Broker firms to originate your loans is not going to work in January of 2014.

I've been told that steel is preferable because of termites, but my cousin built his house with wood studs and said wood is better.

No customer service.

Preferably in the Lake Charles area.

That should allow you to do a purely financial decision based upon numbers and then you can add in your personal needs and desires for cash flow or if you can afford to keep the property and subsidize it for repairs and such then that might be your preference.