One great alternative is to buy with an LLC and get commercial financing through a local bank.

So we are not on the same page when it comes to how much his house is worth.You bring up a good alternative but in this case because the owner thinks his house will sell for higher he is more inclined to an agreement where he gets the upside after I collect X amount in profit.I am not saying this makes total sense...but thats what the way he is looking at it....so was wondering if anyone ran into a similar situation and has ever structured a deal in this manner.

So, most of my offers were within a day, but I guess as @Sebastian Gast also mentioned, I might have to start looking for some alternate lead generation in hot market like DFW.

If not I suggest staying put until you can either get the HOA provisions changed or the market recovers enough that you are not under water and can sell.I know that sucks, but it is better than the alternative of destroying your wife's credit.

You might suggest it as an alternative, but I think it will only be appealing to her at a "near retail price," which is bad for you.

Alternatively, I know I could use the cash to flip units, but I don't have experience with that at this time.What made paying the mortgage off attractive was that if we did this, we would be able to free up enough cash flow to pay down the remaining properties within four years, and that point, it's a straight up cash game to purchase additional units.

Most banks are wise that the sort of letters @Kevin Cook mentions are worthless.An alternative is to get truly pre-approved and write your offers as financed.A better alternative still is to skip the MLS and do your own marketing and find deals.

If it is vacant, first try checking via property profiles to see if there is an alternative/mailing address.

From listening in to the podcasts I am keen to learn more on alternative financing and putting together groups of investors in deals, probably buy and hold, as have only used straight bank finance really here, apart from a couple of friends loans for deposits in the early days.

There also could be an alternative accommodation that would meet her need.