If I had to go back to 1996 when I started, I would do the same thing - get a small multifamily and live in one of the units.One thing I'd change is that I'd operate on of the units as a short-term rental/corporate rental.The technology wasn't around then, but it sure is available now. 

It give me the opportunity to make a low ball offer and maybe buy the property at the right price.I don't know about the timeline your asking about.Although I am originally from Alabama, I won't invest in tax liens there because there are much better states to invest and get properties in a relatively short period of time, at least relative to AL.

Rent (short term). 

The front cottage is going to be long term and my plan is to do short term rentals out of the garage units. 

Originally posted by @Aaron Klatt:I think most lines of credit won't have an amortization schedule, because they are meant for frequent smaller purchases, I have no clue about the rate though.Yeah I'm assuming it's a short term product better suited for flips similar to a HELOC.I thought I saw in a thread here on BP that rates were in the mid 6's or 7's so that's why I'm curious.Would be a much cheaper alternative to HML and still provide a way to do multiple deals via leverage.

The S-Corp benefits may not ever be achieved in what will presumably be a short term entity. 

I think that's what initially attracted me to real estate, but now I'm realizing that having freedom of my time and the ability to spend that with my family is waaaay more important than fast cars and big houses.

They simply walk away without having to go through a short sale or pay out of pocket to sell the place.

There are short-term (2-5 years are the max) interest-only loans by hard-money lenders that have a balloon payment at the end of term.

Current Zillow estimate is 78k and they still have 4 years left on the option (this one was our first one so we didn’t build in enough appreciation and we will only make around 12k each on it but it got us off to the races). https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/121-W-Harding-Ave-COOLIDGE-AZ-85128/8685741_zpid/So you can see that our model is pretty simple and is attractive to people who want to own a home but are not able to get a mortgage on one right now but they can lock in a price today, plant their roots, and work towards getting their credit repaired.