the thing i like about you is you've got some awesome ideas on this board. you have no idea how much stuff i've applied that you've suggest. maybe 1 day i can return the favor.

Situation (a) drove you to (b), meaning if this goes to court, it doesn't sound to be in your favor.

Favorable tax rates

The cards are in your favor and there is no reason why you can not recover in full including principal, interest and advances.

All that said, just because there is a deficiency does not mean there is a deficiency judgement nor does it guarantee a favorable court judgement in favor of granting said judgment.

We're totally in favor of seeking seller financing, but that seems to be an awfully rare occurrence, as far as we can tell, since that requires the seller's to own the property free and clear.

If the appraisal says that there is a bunch of stuff wrong with the house, they will most likely either require that those items be corrected prior to closing (not going to happen) or deny the loan.The bank that owns the property is most likely aware of the condition of the house, and they know that a buyer with financing is going to have that problem so they will favor cash offers or offers with such high down payments that the buyer's lender might look the other way.You might try private money financing.

Getting the place rented requires that you compare favorably with the competitor units nearby; comparison based on amenities and price, as well as neighborhood and schools, and the sizes of rooms in the unit.

We've done favors for them too say when they have a minor car issues since we're gear heads and have all the tools.

Regardless of what you do many people will be sued in their lifetime for something whether it is valid or not.The best thing to do is be pro-active.Have a plan and run operations in a way that slant things in your favor if a case happens.When someone sues they tend to make many mistakes before it gets to court.Even if they have a valid or partially valid claim you can leverage their mistakes to weaken their position for a settlement before it goes to a judge.Money isn't the only thing lost in a suit.It's everyone's time to deal with it and money lost from not just the claim but focusing on money making activities as well.When an attorney sees an LLC or a corp versus an individual many will not take pro bono unless they have a slam dunk case.It will be more of a challenge with the extra layer of asset protection if you run it properly.You can create a master llc and then have a sub llc for each property etc.