Ive had luck taking deals like this and turning them into more of a short term entire seller hold back  with as little as 5-10% down, and just making the note balloon in a few years.

If they are comfortable with income/wealth, better motivations would be a redeployment of capital or investing in stocks/bonds?

I would suggest keeping it as a rental and do a cash out refinance if you have a short term loan on the property.  

It stayed on the market for a while and then went to short sale and then went off market, I thought someone had bought it.

Awesome @Roy Wise, the group is fairly new but we have added a bunch of members in a short time.

I have been investing in the stock market for years now, and recently came across real estate investing in the past few months.

I am looking to learn how to do Fix and Flips, Buy and Holds, wholesale, Foreclosures, and Short Sale purchasing.

I am looking to learn how to do Fix and Flips, Buy and Holds, wholesale, Foreclosures, and Short Sale purchasing.

You can probably pay the same or less than what you're paying in Astoria if you house-hack a duplex.The only way I'd suggest a SFR as a first investment is if it has a live-in basement that you'd be willing to live in short-term.As far as location, its best to first get an idea of what you're qualified to purchase.

For instance do you pay the entirety of the rental price and after rely on your marketing to fill the space with short term rentals?