Even in very exacting jobs (e.g. space craft design), where even a small mistake is literally a mission critical life & death issue, they use 'rules' to avoid over-engineering (or to use another phrase 'analysis paralysis').The 'rules' for real estate investing are not intended to be exact or fully comprehensive.

Then with what I had I felt more comfortable with the construction bussiness.  

I'm definitely pushing my own comfort level with this venture.

I have clients that own 1 to 5 vacation rentals here on Mau i and once you hit that threshold of 5 you may be put into a commercial status (5+ units), so qualifying can be a bit more difficult, looking at such things as:What has that person owned and what has been their management experience collecting rent and managing propertiesThe borrower's credit score, income and personal and business tax returns will be considered along with two years' operating statements and a current rent roll for the property.Also important are property metrics, such as: Net operating income: The annual income, minus expenses that a property generates from its operationsDebt service coverage: Measure of cash flow relative to debt payment obligationsLoan-to-value (LTV) ratio: A measure of the loan amount relative to the value of the propertyThe property has to service its debt at a comfortable marginOf course each lender can be a bit different, so it's good to shop around if needed.I hope that helps.BTW - what do you consider big money?  

I know several people living very comfortably on the cash flow of their appreciating properties they own free and clear.  

Good day Greg,I also suggest you also look into a network like Alex mentioned.The most important thing would be to know the people (in my opinion), but even more important you don't cross boundaries and do something your NOT comfortable with.I am a big fan of BP networking as well as REI groups on Facebook and also my network.  

Also pull the information for the areas you already invest in and are comfortable with.

Buying into Real Estate groups &/or seminars are good if you feel comfortable with it but not if you aren't.  

So while i dont have a tremendous amount of experience I can approach investors with a binder of historical data demonstrating success in managing townhomes in this area, and that my projected numbers are backed by historical numbers with similar properties.Second is relationships, the stronger the relationship the more comfortable someone will be investing with you.

A lease purchase isn't going to make the seller any more comfortable, and certainly not a lease option.