They overall cost to have a service agreement versus just paying for the 2 services a year was the same, they just charged up front rather than paying separately for the maintenance services.   

., we lend our own money) we always bet on the borrower first.

That being said, there are some significant benefits to building versus buying and rehabbing.1) If you're building, you should be able to come in at 80% LTV or better assuming you're acting as the GC. 

Just have to run your number on the market and the product type (i.e. small houses versus big houses, etc).

@Shane Petersen from my experience, your best bet is to find and insurance broker that sells SafeCo.

I think that overall, multi-unit buildings will be your best bet if you don't want to risk getting in trouble with condo associations. 

Thats just not an option.....Care to put some $ on that bet? 

I’ve heard and read it’s difficult transferring a house from your name into your LLC versus buying it under your LLC in the beginning.

Also if you have leaks in one unit and not the other then the other tenants are paying for that.There are services that put a private meter on each unit so the tenants are billed on what each consumes  versus averaging out.

You've gotta work with someone who understand the investor route, a broker, who knows who can actually get the loan done is your best bet!