I want to invest in real estate, but i dont have enough for a downpayment on a morgage.I am heavily paying off my student loans, living with roommates, contributing to a 401k, work full time, but i dont have enough cash on hand to get traditional financing.Im thinking that moving into a seller financed house is my best option to get started with REI.

Typical is 35% down or more.Now with retail centers multiple tenants are underwritten differently and you can generally land 25% down unless cap rate is really low compared to interest rate and then it might be 30 or 35% down to get a loan.Abdul,I post when I can in between deals.

Much like traditional wholesaling, I should market the contract itself.

Much like traditional wholesaling, I should market the contract itself.

Discuss their level of success and compare it to the best you can expect from the low cost areas (i.e. mostly Midwest areas).Good luck

You'll need to also define  your monthly revenue and expenses for each to truly compare them. 

@Colin McGowan most lenders, and all traditional lenders, as far as I know, will make you escrow taxes and, usually, insurance.

i have noticed the days on market, but quickly found out that has no bearing on how i negotiate price. no sellers so far are desperate enough. interesting note on the price per square ft. didn't even think about that but as i compare different properties in the neighborhood, that'll help me with a consistent value. 

As for the 50% rule, the BP Calculator also lists the 50% rule as part of the final list of info and I've been taking a look each time at what appears there compared to what I get when I break out the components individually... to get a better sense of both approaches.

When they do you're typically talking about non traditional banks, or you're getting into the commercial side of their lending.