If I believe they have taken steps to improve their situation, and I am comfortable they will continue to do so, I will often request something to mitigate my risk and move forward anyway. 

Finally, I'll add that I've had clients cost themselves thousands of dollars and several weeks of valuable time by communicating directly with the other party's agent and sharing info that should have been discussed with me first.I'm a firm believer that one great agent (per market area or specialty area such as residential vs commercial) is all you'll ever need to buy and sell real estate.

@Dustin Rose acting as a true wholesaler in FL is actually a felony believe it or not! 

There has to be some form of a written agreement on who gets what of the profit, who's in charge of maintenance, what happens when a partner wants out, who's on the loan/title... etc  I find it hard to believe that this person wouldn't just take this deal and run with it on their own since they are funding everything with their money and I won't be giving a dime.

We have also entertained the idea of a HELOC, but with the interest rates being variable, I believe that if interest rates increase drastically (which I believe will happen over the next few years), that may not be our best option. 

The fact you don’t mention the strategy leads me to believe you already know it’s unethical at best and criminal at worst.

So it’s not the protection I was lead to believe...I appreciate the advice!

I am committed to the concept of building passive income and firmly believe in hard assets as a way to create legacy wealth.I am a little unsure about the following, the financing piece. 

I believe Portland and other cities are considering similar measures wherein you must have very, very good reasons for not renewing a tenant.

Don't believe the numbers the seller gives you run reality numbers.