There's a ton of good info.Regarding taxes, I'm no accountant, but if you are looking to buy some homes and rent them out, taxes are pretty favorable compared to most endeavours.Good luck!

There could be newer information out there now since this was from 2007 but I would definitely check twice because the PA supreme court is the one that ruled in favor of the end buyer.http://lawyersusaonline.com/benchmarks/2011/12/06/must-home-sellers-disclose-murdersuicide/

If you're investing on the fringe of the city where vacancy rates are higher and rents are declining, leverage is probably less favorable.

The court stated that an 8(b) lawsuit could occur when no real work is done in exchange for the fee, or the fee exceeds the reasonable value of the services actually provided.The United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled that the Brokerage had not identified settlement services to support the Fee and therefore the court ruled in favor of the Buyer and the class she represented.

I used to use this option years ago, but stopped in favor of the above options.

It would have to be approved by the bank, and generally only a small local bank where you already have an established relationship would allow it.The main option for avoiding the large payment is to live in one of the units and get more favorable owner-occupied financing.

Basically, I wonder if they would discount the note as a favor?

Building to sell is another story, as this can work quite well assuming the variables all line up in your favor.

Should we go with un-favorable HML to build a track record?

Those two qualities alone are enough to stack the deck in your favor no matter what you decided to do for a living.Best of luck,Brandon