If so, that makes my proposed business plan very workable....Are you seeing large demand at that return? 

New to BP and I'm looking at buying my first property in the Orono / Old Town area and there are a few that look workable.

We obviously do run projections and base our exit strategy on IRR but this was not a case of a workable deal. 

Its a workable investment.

Your Plan B doesn't look fully workable, which I am also pretty sure you understand.

This could be a winning strategy.Another possible outlet would be an investor looking to get started that you could partner with by owner financing this home for, provided it will rent for a workable number. 

Commercial loan rates and terms would not make this workable for us.

Solutions that have proven workable...Rental income as qualifying income, including future income from the property being purchased.Spouse's income & do it in his name.Most creative: Refinance the primary residence into just the spouse's name (ensure taxes/ins is escrowed) and have little/no consumer debt.

That play in particular seems dangerous for a newbie, but workable for a more experienced investor.

Check listsource to see if there are a lot of cash buyers (Absentee owners 100% equity purchased within the last 6 months) free to view # of properties that meet your criteria for any list parameters you generate. 10 cash sales in a city with about 40,000 SFRs is probably workable as long as it isn't a place where people are buying a lot of 2nd homes