One of my biggest problems has been properly locating and finding the correct information on the owner to make a solid connection.I have tried a few different ways like looking up the owner's name on the internet and whitepages.com although neither has really proven to be productive.

Unless you are bidding thru a team or only tracking a single property, it's hard to deal with the lawyers but probably cheaper.Again, just a theory.

No one else is tracking your savings goals but yourself, so you might as well understand those costs now rather than be disappointed later.

You can get owner financing, buy subject to, and a number of other low to no money down strategies.Be careful at RE seminars, most are run by gurus who prey on those looking for the "fast track" and a large majority of your book education can come from right here on BP and from reading books.

We also supply a 24 month operating budget and a five year proforma.I would include in the narrative any relevant experience you or your partners have and if you have one, a track record of previous investments that you operate currently or that have gone full cycle.

Thats just crazy Nicole but i can see how some people are always trying to get a buck off of someone, Im glad you are covering your tracks!

The problem is that at the beginning is the most dangerous time to be over leveraged because you won't be nimble enough or have a big enough track record to be able to cover the risk.

I track it for tax deduction purposes.

Another good idea is to hit open houses and then track those properties.

Just stick to methods that are proven to work/collective advice from more experienced investors and you should be okay.