I know a lot of new investors who believe that a lease purchase is a great alternative exit strategy if they can’t resell a flip.

I like FOREX

I believe the government will make politcally unpopular decisions because the alternative would not be good for the economy and thus we will continue to recover.

One reason FNMA offers homeopath financing on their properties is there's no appraisal, so they can sell above FMV.Wayne Brooks that typo (or was that deliberate) would make that a sort of "alternative" financing :)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy

If the market rents paid remain high, his return can be higher than an alternative investment.

Like I said this wasn't by choice getting this property, it was already mine and even if I'm losing 100/monthly after all expenses this is better than the alternative right now of selling it while the market is low.

I failed to mention that in addition to the alternatives I listed above, in this situation I have to feel very good about the applicants character.

Alternatives: What about a note/DOT at max (10%) interest, plus a separate equity split agreement?

I'm just looking to gain a more detailed view of an alternative to being a lender.

Alternatively, depending on how much of the loan is seller financed, you may be able to defer the taxes on the principal over time.