That way you both gain experience in the business, learn creative ways to find lending, the pitfalls of REI (not like you see on the TV shows) and you can possibly have input on the layout of the property, which could be valuable selling point in the future. 

I was wondering if anyone had experience with them and would be willing to share (*ahem) some strategies.I'm also unclear on what needs to happen after a purchase to clean up the title and ensure there are not other liens... 

There are some areas in CA where I could reach that, even at 30% equity, you just have to be creative.

I'm also experience in direct mail marketing so please feel free to share any good info you gather with me, especially if you hear of something creative or unconventional. 

If I did not mention the property taxes, how do I ensure the buyer pays 10.5 months worth of taxes at closing?

The other big risk with any investment right now in the AV is that the market is fairly high right now and historically this area gets absolutely hammered when a recession comes ... it always comes back, so if you are a long term investor it won't matter as much, but something to be aware of and carefully structure to ensure that you can hold through a downturn to make it to the long term.

I have not contacted the seller yet so I don't know what their situation is or if they would be willing to do any creative financing.

Where to begin... Well, I have a few questions that I would love to have answered by the hierarchy of the real estate investing world. To get started, where do I begin? I have put in numerous hours of researching loca...

She was easy to work with, has an experienced crew that do good work, and was able to make the job fit my budget while ensuring that no corners were cut.

It could cashflow if I added a bedroom in the basement.I'm a fairly conservative investor: a minimum of 20% COC, 2% rule, with a good buy and/or multiple exit strategies.I actually discovered BiggerPockets because I ran into issues purchasing my first two condos - I could not get the bank to finance the second condo because there was too many rentals within he complex. 1) Condo (1/1) - purchased w/ 5% down as an owner occupied property (one of my best properties)2) Condo (2/2) - got denied so I got creative and used the checks that credit cards sent you (25k) from three different cards, begged friends, and had about 15k in my bank.