It's just laughable to imagine a scenario where I have to start designation certain parts of the yard.

I can approach the owners of these properties to see if they're interested in selling.

Send a letter to the owner to see if they want out b4 the property deteriorates too much in value &/or housing code violations build up.Then our RE agent is older than God so she knows who the old retired to sunny south portfolio owners are & she has approached some for us.

Would you mind sharing what your approach is (type of mail/list)?

Or approach the owners and offer a deed in lieu.

Thx Karen and Jenn for your constructive feedback, I appreciate it.After more thought I am approaching this property with a buy as is strategy and the conversion on the exisitng Cafe into my own Laundrymat is not so much in the picture at this point.3 residentials mixed with 1 commercial unit I think is a good way to get my feet wet on the commercial side.thx again for all your feedback!

Is it a better/cleaner approach to have each partner contribute the same capital initially, but have the "money" partner loan the LLC/scorp cash to buy property interest free.

I attended my second local REIA meeting last night and was approached by a more experienced investor who indicated that she owns a house I might be interested in.

I'll probably set up a meeting this weekend sometime, and would love some advice on how to approach the situation.

In my very humble opinion, #1 sounds more personal and approachable- especially if you do the photo like you originally suggested.If I was a distressed seller, I think it would appeal to me to feel like I was going directly to a person instead of a cookie cutter home buyer.Whatever your name choice ends up being I hope it is a successful marketing campaign!