My parents withheld the garnisheed amount from his paycheck each payday and sent it to the collection agency.

Regardless of who owns the properties, the same amount of work/effort still has to be performed per property.

Please click on the links, give them a read, and share your thoughts in the comments.First is a post that I feel will help not get overwhelmed with the amount of info that is here on BP:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52761-the-simple-guide-to-getting-started-on-bpThe second is a post that will help get you focused with your real estate investing goals:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52743-im-new-to-bp-any-advice-would-be-appriciatedThe last one is a post that will help you choose an “investor friendly” real estate agent.

They will not accept the deal if it is just a subject-to offer in the amount to cover their mortgage payment. 

Yet my equity paydown was only $4k off of my initial loan amount, the rest went to interest, taxes, insurance, etc.

Don't know the amount yet. 

Example: X amount Painting, Y amount flooring etc.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/09/-sitting-on-record-amount-of-cash-and-not-tapping-it.htmlIs this time different for homeowners?

I recently paid off 60% of my car (I didn't want to pay off the whole thing because I felt it would harm my credit.) leaving me with a principal amount of around 4k.

I'm not a loan officer but I have been surprised by the amount of loan programs out there for many different scenarios.