@Jay HinrichsI think there are several reasons for the significant drop, but the two biggest in my opinion are related to financial theory and the current legislative landscape. 

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when starting out?  

My biggest concern with the property is that I will be able to finance it within 2 year to avoid the balloon in the financing.

Can I use a home as collateral for a private money loan even though the home is not fully paid off?

The biggest pro to this deal is that the seller will owner finance for 5 years, a major perk for me as i only have so much capital and elders are hard to come by with deals in this price range.Any advise or insight would be appreciated.View report*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.

although there is a carve out for private folks who do not hold themselves out as in the business like we all do.those folks can do half a dozen or so like through their IRA or what have you.. but they cannot advertise in any manner..

Now everybody and their mother's cat is doing it so we might want to look into storage and notes but also groom and nurture our network of private investors and such.We have lost touch with nature.

Should I go to hard money lenders for the rest or keep looking for more Private money?

Please feel free to private message me with any questions, would be happy to help guide you through any other issues.Good luck!

I think the approaches above have ruled out any kind of conventional mortgage, so I'm left with commercial loans/private lenders.