The seller was willing to do a carryback in the second position and the bank was the primary position.

Sometimes starting a forecosure is what motivates a seller to redeem the tax lien.

Your insurance is going to be highly variable and I wouldn't use what an agent or the seller tells you as the cost of dwelling policies have increased substantially over the past few years due to rising new construction costs. 

You need to make sure that your property is easily financeable if you decide to sell it in the future and any future buyer can call out non-permitted items and actually report you to the building department or, at a minimum, ask for seller concessions.

Not a great time to be a seller right now unfortunately.

Main questions should ask about the seller's:- Reasons/Motivations for wanting to sell- Desired timeline to close- Plan's after selling (relocation, reinvesting proceeds, 1031 exchange, etc)- Back-up plan in case they are unable to sell within the desired timeline- Reasons for not already selling to/with a investor or RealtorAdditional questions will depend on the type of seller lead i.e. pre-foreclosure, probate, fsbo, absentee owner, etc.Here is an example of a youtube search you can use to begin finding call recordings.There are 1,000s and you'll find that the best/most effective ones don't even sound like sales calls.

Creative financing: Explore seller financing or subject-to deals for your next property, which often require less upfront cash and bypass traditional lending limits.You’re on the right track thinking long-term—house hacking and leveraging your duplex are great moves.

Buyers are harder to find than sellers these days so the buyers broker should get more than them. 

When it comes to creative finance, I personally lean more towards seller finance as I like getting to work with owners and building relationships with them.

Look at the trailing 12 month's expenses on the seller's operating statement.