Plenty of large PE firms are buying for cash flow right now and that includes paying fairly high prices in bulk for residential real estate almost banking on appreciation sooner or later.

I have a firm belief if the min. 20% down payment can not be covered, a person has no business buying based on this magical appreciation.Prices can't go down right....

I cant imagine this being legal, but even if it was, you would be opening your firm up to major potential litigation.

However, the people getting rich of this scheme are the platforms (or broker-dealers) and the service firms (lawyers, accountants, etc.)

Not only what Mark said, but some times a bank will not allow ANY agent within the listing broker's firm to buy that particular REO.

For me that's just not good enough so I have recently started placing block after strategic block in a foundation for our new real estate investment firm that I hope will bear greater and longer lasting fruits than our first attempt.Although our credit has recovered for the most part from our personal housing crash, we have been unable to acquire capital for down payments.

I lived in on base housing in Kaneohe Bay Hawaii on base housing that was subcontracted to a private civillian real estate investing firm.

Get a hosted one?

Buy and hold would be my approach.Could anyone recommend a couple of reliable agents as well as property management firms?

We are by and large a whole loan mortgage firm and not so much a buyer of these instruments per se.