The other part of the is the tax implication when computing ROI.  

Make sure to pick houses that still make money after you pay all bills, like the mortgage, taxes, insurance, upkeep, empty times, and management fees.

(I admittedly dont fully comprehend the implications of him cosigning) He assured me that he would not be involved and that the .5 point goes directly to him as a finders fee.

Where it goes wrong is people use it to renovate and sell a property but it takes a lot longer and they get caught paying all the penalties and fees which are a crusher.

Also don't forget to look into your tax treatment for signage.

IRS SS-4 FORM: When you first sign up for your Tax ID number, you’ll get a letter stating what your Tax ID number is.

Hello all, I acquired a property remotely thru the online tax lien sale in Lake county Gary IN last spring and successfully redeemed it. 

In exchange for the time you spend on this, you will get to save the fee you would pay in option 2 or 3.

I wish I had all my mint data for some end of the year tax reporting, and am not scrambling to find something new.

--> Automates a lot of your expense tracking --> Much cheaper than most softwares/fancy sheets --> Will probably save you a couple of thousand extra on your taxes if you follow all the recommendations.