You could go park your money somewhere else, so when challenges arise with real estate, you need to have the drive to stay with it, and that will only happen if you have clear goals that you're working towards.Also, you need to get educated about what "investing in real estate" means to you, as there are numerous channels to utilize and it can often feel overwhelming.

I think it all depends on the risk/reward profile you're looking for.

Good income, bad credit, and a google search revealed numerous personal lawsuits against anyone he could have, including his university.

In Chicago, we have numerous areas that fit this description.

He is a freelancer-ish in the film industry, so even when I tried to get the HELOC, I had to give them numerous W-2s and W-9s. 

I have reached out on social media to numerous brokers and it has gone well.

There are numerous services out there online you can use. 

It comes back like a coiled spring only to disappoint those who left and reward those who stayed.

The point of my comment was, that in my opinion, if the cost of the premium is less then the amount of the investment, it always makes economic sense to pay the premium, but I stand ready to read about a risk/reward scenario where that belief would be misplaced.

In addition, because of how low interest rates are, there are numerous buyers who are waiting on sidelines for these foreclosures because money is very cheap right now.