If she is getting a divorce, she will not know for sure until the ink is dried on the divorce papers.I have always used two rules of thumb:1) Avoid being more than 25 percent of the NET income.2) Make sure the tenant/borrower has the ability to enjoy life and still pay the rent/mortgage without sweating bullets.

Include conversations with seasoned investors with many years of experience.

Even after all these years of personal experience and education, I continue to read approximately 2 hours or more a day to continue to educate and evolve.Moreover, I have spent many hours reading actual state statutory laws and federal laws.Probably most importantly, I have spent many hours with numerous mentors, very experienced and seasoned mentors that are my father’s age or older.

Do you seasoned Investors recommend someone just starting out to get there real estate license?

How much would you seasoned investors pay for this note?

Does it have to thrown off that kind of cap rate and you need that cash flow or if you have enough cash to be comfortable most seek a "flight to quality".I can tell you owning a lower income property and living the headache and actual returns is VERY different than theory and thinking about taking on such a property.The plays I see is seasoned investors buy these and clean them out and then force appreciation and sell off in one to two years max.

All the podcasts I've listened to from seasoned investors suggest getting your real estate license.

Thanks for letting me know about meetups in the area, I would love to chat with other Bay Area investors.I definitely think East Palo has started to gentrify (Starbucks, Home Depot, Four Seasons all contribute $), but schools still have a long way to go.I bought in East Palo Alto in 5/2009; a fixer in East Palo Alto in 2010 and sold that; a fixer in Redondo Beach in 2/2011 and a fixer in Mountain View in 1/2012 but nothing since.

I'd suggest you allow at least 6 months seasoning for a loan made from equity of the seller.But really, just avoid CFDs.

This is convoluted enough to make a seasoned guys heads spin, let alone a newbie without money to put down 500.00 earnest money.