Speaking from personal experience, I wish somebody would have told me the following starting off:1) You're more than likely going to need to traditional banks.

You never know, you might just across a good deal through your network.As far as books go here are some of my favorite books (real estate and non real estate related):-Rich Dad Poor Dad (of course)-The Book on Real Estate Investing with Low and No Money Down-Finding and Funding Great Deals (I’m going through this one right now)Non Real Estate Related:-Principles by Ray Dalio-Relentless by Tim Grover-The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (this is my all time favorite and read it twice a year)

Anna, there are def some traditional sources (community banks) of financing that will do 80% of appraised value.

At the end of the day the seller gets cash anyway whether it is from the buyer or the buyers bank.Cash offers mean more when the property is not in a condition that allows it to get traditional bank financing because it eliminates a majority of buyers.

After rehab you roll the loan into a traditional mortgage. 

Looking to get into my first deal.Never invested before in any property and STRs seem to be much more appealing than traditional rentals.I'm looking into STRs in La Quinta/Indio area.A couple questions for anyone who's familiar with the cities:1.

Now,  If i season 6mos, at 75% refi and reasonable closing cost with a traditional loan, I will be approximately 60% ROI. 2 deals per year though....If I use a hard money lender 1 mos seasoning at 70% in a P&I product, they charge quite a bit in fees, and the property will ROI at 25%. 

So there I was on 12/31 (closing date #2) hearing nothing so began converting any traditional IRA funds into Roths in the afternoon.

The study resulted in several interesting findings, including: • Most people moved to a place within the same county (62%)• 1 in 6 (16%) people on the move chose to find a new home across state lines• The top destination city was Scottsdale, AZ, with twice (108%) as many people moving in versus out• The top destination state was Idaho with 48% more people moving into it than out of it• 1 in 8 (13%) of all out-of-state moves were moves to Florida• 20% of all moves in America happen on Saturday• 35% of all moves took place in the Summer months“This particular study stands out because HireAHelper’s data takes into account the small, do-it-yourself moves that are invisible to large moving companies that have traditionally published migratory figures,” says Dr.

This is really the main "protection" Seller has in the Seller-financing arrangement and he is allowing a higher LTV than any traditional lender would.4.