From this position when the corrections happen you will thrive.  

They were roughly 15 points higher but I think a recent hard hit inquiry lowered the number.My wife and I have a combined, established W-2 of 161K annually.No major debt except for my primary home, an escrowed mortgage of 1600/month.Here are my top two options:20-year note at 4.63% with 20% down30-year note at 4.75% with 20% downI'm leaning towards the 30-year note because I'm not concern about paying off the note faster with less interest but more concerned about getting a higher cash flow with the least amount of cash upfront.CAN I GO BACK TO MY LENDER AND SOMEHOW NEGOTIATE A LOWER INTEREST RATE?

They aren't being crazy, yet, but you need to establish boundaries so you don't get pushed around.

It is a retail business that thrives in both a down market (put) as well as a growth market (option). 

You should establish a relationship with a local title company.

This method requires you to have a lot more cash since you gotta be out of pocket with cash before you get your money back to recycle and proceed to phase 2.The HELOC route is the because once you establish the line of credit you can pull it or use it at will, but the downside is the HELOC is only based off the current fair market value (FMV) of your property today so you cannot borrow against the after improved value (less access to future equity).

@Gerald O'Brien a quiet title action means that there is uncertainty regarding who has legal claim to the property, and someone (likely an investor since 1528 N Leithgow St is a 500 sq ft vacant lot, not a house) is trying to buy it or establish their claim to it. 

There is a Mortgage Recording Tax of around 2.175%So imagine you buy a property worth $2 Million, put down 20% or $400k.Then you create another lien, say $500k.That will cost you $500k x 2.175% = $10,875.Further, if you really want to make this a valid loan, you would probably create a LLC, fund it the $500k, have it establish the new lien on the property, let it get paid the Interest.Now you will have to pay tax on the Interest and filing fees for the LLC and have a CPA do your Tax Returns.That might be worth it to someone, but to me, it's a little over kill when you can just get an umbrella policy for less than $300 per year that will cover you an additional $2 Million.

. : )Hi Sonya,Ohio is a great market along with many others in the Midwest.I always stress to new investors to focus more on establishing trust and relationships with key people on the ground rather than looking at the stats and demographics of a particular area straight off the bat.Every time I lost money in real estate wasn't due to the numbers not working in the deal.

Some goals that I have set for myself are:*Become an avid member in local REIA groups*Start a real estate investing company in the next 3-4 months *Get my first wholesale deal in the next 4-6 months*Build long-lasting relationships through real estate investing I have a deep passion for building relationships and I'm hoping to establish some great ones here wth the BP community!!