I do / done many rent to own (contract for deed) and a few seller finananced deals where I keep the note.Why not in parallel use a flat fee listing on MLS too?   

Yea they would keep that in place and you'd get a second position mortgage for the rest at, well, higher than todays rates.

You have to keep up with rent trends or tough it out and wait for hopefully a stronger rental market this spring.   

i wouldn't cash out your 401K, it's not worth the penalties.the only thing I can say is to keep looking and don't buy just to buy.

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No way is this a scheme to keep EM for the seller..Anytime I have had EMD disputes it usually gets solved with a 50 50 split since I know what will happen.. what happens is exactly as you describe.. money is to small to realistically hire an attorney to collect..

That's awesome, keep it going bro.  

It's tempting early on to leverage as much as you can so you can do more deals and keep liquidity, but increased cashflow especially with PMI will make you sleep a lot better at night.

You would have ongoing filing requirements with the State and would need to keep business records and documentation.

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