I'm new to the real estate game too.

It's an ever-changing game and eachnsotuation is completely unique.

Excited to be here with the rest of the Bigger Pockets family and learn as much as I can from all of you as I am really new to the game!

I figure I just give the leads to a company who’s already in the game, and get paid a finders fee for being a bird dog.

Wanted to get in to the game on this first one and get some experience.

The county/city zoning board has said this unit is not an issue and is grandfathered in, but he's worried about the more stringent FHA appraisal/inspection3) Buyer "skin in the game" - doesn't want to be left holding the property again as this has happened to him at least twice on previous land-contract/CFD arrangements4) Ability for buyer to acquire traditional financing at balloon5) Effective total cash to the seller is a primary driverWe submitted an offer that solves all these problems:Property A:Purchase price: 360k using FHA loan, owner-occupiedProperty B:Purchase price: 305k, 0% down, 25 yr amortization, 5 yr balloon, 4% interest rateNote + mortgage arrangement with professional loan servicing/escrowAssuming a 9% annual return in the stock market, this arrangement is equal in total cash to seller (including accounting for inflation,etc).

I thought about using a contact from the web ... but is that safe?

If so, I realize my post is late to the game and wish you the best, but wanted to share a few things and maybe reassure you or give you more clarity of situation in Hawaii and submitting an offer in this market.  

I figure the stepping stone approach may be best suited for my game plan.

I have never played the "guess what this is" game with tenants.