It's always good practice to shop around.

What is your opinion on this practice?

@Annette Hibbler Pre 08 paying the GC and trusting him to pay subs was common practice... as builders and GC's went down like fly's in the great depression.. many builders and GC did not pay the subs.. and this created all sorts of problems..

Are you familiar with "prudent lending practices"?

The most common options would be renting or doing a lease option/purchase -- but with a hard money loan, you'd be hard-pressed to see positive cash flow and you'd be forced to pay off the loan when it comes due.If you absolutely can't find a way to pay off that hard money loan, my suggestion would be not to borrow the money unless you were practically 100% certain you could either sell the place for a profit or you could bring the money to the table when selling for a loss.

Is it practical to find investment opportunities with that low of a capital amount around the same return rate as the primary investment?

I'm currently taking a real estate: principles and practices course.

It's not our usual practice, but we have done this a couple of times with vendors - both times we put up a large ernest money and made a portion of it non-refundable - but these were exceptional circumstances.We have not done this with a power-of-sale or bank-owned property, nor would I have any expectation they would allow it to occur.

That way it's not really stealing.That's a big issue in RE, too many don't understand legal obligations and trying to devise little tricks in agreements to justify unethical or illegal practices.

Quick info about me: I am practically obsessed with learning!