Now you run the risk of the bank calling the loan due if they find out about this transaction happening and if you quit claim deed a property off market then you might have problems with the sale of the property and more signatures may be required by the old owner in order to sell and you will assume any liens/encumbrances the old owner has you might miss since you didn't have a title company transfer title.

Purchase prices are considerably lower than Los Angeles and other cities in SoCal but the rents are still high enough to produce high cap rates compared to the rest of the state.

We would like to target homes anywhere from there down the 95 corridor to the lower part of the North Shore Beverly --Peabody, Danvers, and Salem areas.  

I'm not going to try to sugar coat it:Is there upside in rent as that's one of the most important things I look for.Based on my experience, the cap ex is probably high.You won't be able to get a 40 year loan so that pushes your mortgage amount up and your cash flow down.You should be able to get lower than 5% unless you are only going into a commercial loan.Terrible cash on cash returnany property I buy needs more than $5,000 in repairs. 

A 50K duplex will most certainly be in a lower income area.  

Normally the seller is supposed to direct all transactions through their realtor, but it all depends on the contract they have with each other

What I've noticed is that in general, people are not really getting their money's worth out of major remodels in the lower end condo areas.

She was under contract with an investor to sell her current preforeclosure (she missed a few payments) however this transaction did not involve you?

They do title work and closings or every kind of transaction.

You don't have to go 80/20, you can go 60/40 for a lower payment and (sometimes) a slightly lower rate.