On the positive side, I've learned a lot that should help me.

I am in way too much debt for my salary and want to have some room if I end up having to carry a property for a bit before it sells.There is way too much hype in this business.

My goals for 2007 are:1. to add another 20 rental units (we're closing on 10 at the end of this month)2. in addition, to find and purchase one larger project, ideally a 50 unit apartment complex, mobile home park, or RV Park (generating a minimum positive cash flow of $100/unit/month)

The former registered an average rate of 6.27% in the past week whereas the latter increased by two base points, closing at 6.11%.Contrary to gloomy forecasts for housing and construction industries, recent trends have indicated a more positive outcome.

That said, our position is good.

Ok, perhaps not that complicated but requires you to go that extra mile anyway vs. just purchasing as an individual.I do agree that home equity is usually cheaper money but there are a few reasons I can think of to use a mortgage on the investment property instead: (1) you will continue looking for other investments in which case, access to maximum cash via your HELOC may be important; (2) you *may* end up with positive net income on the property without having the mortgage writeoff - this means a visit from the tax man.

A GRM is a basic appraisal method and can be a valuable tool to sift through the multitudes of potential deals, BUT you should ALWAYS run an actual income and expense statement on a rental property before you make an offer.On a side note, the 1% number is the general break even point to have positive cash flow with typical financing.

It has positive cash flow of 4-500/month so I am very interested.

A second lien that forecloses takes the legal rights of possession from whoever owns the property but the second lienholder's position is still subject to the first lien.

there's your liquid cash since you own them all. but also you can take out equity loans from your cars and borrow against them for some cash on hand for the what if's. or you can just go through a bank, there's a million ways to finance a deal. if i were in your position i would be crunchng numbers on homes and if the numbers work then go for it. paralysis by analysis i find is the dumbest thing ever. yes sometimes if you analize something someone else may buy it. but i wouldnt buy anything without feeling completely comfortable with the numbers. remember it's the exit strategy thats most importantl. we all dont want to end up buying a home we cant sell and just that liability our money away. so do your analysis.i dont know how much help what i said is, but dont let anyone tell you that you're going too slow because if anything doesnt make sense then i wouldnt do anything until you feel comfortable with what you're doing.