A contractor, in the eyes of the law and anyone with contracting experience, is simply someone who enters into a contract to perform a service or supply goods.

Even though you aren't the one occupying the house, it is your credit and character 'guaranteeing' performance.  

@Eric Eastman, it does sound like performing mortgage notes would be a great way to invest your money without some of the time commitment it can take to manage rentals or definitely to purchase non-performing assets.  

Third unit delivered vacantMortgage, Insurance, Taxes: $2850 (4.25% rate on conventional 30 year)Down Payment: $150k (Was considering FHA, but since the property price tag is quite high, the monthly MI premiums would have been killer)Rental Income: $26,400Based on these numbers, is this a viable option for me?

how can one go about buying a second home, third home, and so on.  

We have third party property managers that do an excellent job for us.

it is a 3 bed 1 bath w/ unfinished basement 2.5 car garage.I want to rent out the remianing two rooms and live in the third one.

I am 62 and since IRA's are not performing that good, I was thinking per my questions.

Our background is that we have been living with a third roommate in an apartment for  year and are looking for a new place/ possibly want to buy.

They have knowledge of rents, demand, turnover, specific blocks that perform better than others.