I just closed a house in the $320k range for a Doctor in residency in Atlanta... it was probably the easiest transaction I've ever seen, and he got an amazing deal. (0% down, APR under 3%... he actually walked away from closing with a check for his earnest money!)

If you fix a place up and add a lot of value, the owner might decide to rigorously enforce contract terms and do their best to make you violate the terms so they can void the option part of the contract.More fundamentally, though, a residence, IMHO, is not an "investment".

If I can mortage 100%, 14% interest, and still cash flow, using 50% rule, im fine with it. when i started I didnt have money to carry properties for 1 month unrented, guess what, i worked harder, faster, and made it work. kinda wish now a days i had no reserves, although my reserve fund is TINY compared to most, I think if I had NONE I would be at one of my empty recently vandalized properties right now replacing sheetrock as oppose to being on BP!

I'm a Wisconsin resident who is looking into getting a reciprocity or out-of state license with other states...

This enabled me to save quite a bit of money for the next investment which ended up being my primary residence at the time which was a 2 family so that tenant ended up paying 3/4 of my Mtg on that house.Having other people's money work for you can be a great way to build a bankroll and or free up capital for you to invest elsewhere!

Joe, are you buying a house to reside in?

Second, I would look at the Federal Reserve very closely.

This was even on my personal residence, I wouldn't hesitate to use it on a rental if needed.

I read on Fannie Mae that to qualify you either need to be a big shot company with $5M in assets or a qualified investor ($200K/yr income for past two years or $1M net worth not including your primary residence).I may have read this wrong but it seems to me you cannot even find out the details of the program (such as the discount) until you are qualified and you cannot qualify unless you a rich.

Together, we own our residence in Reno worth about $95k with a $40k HEL (@4.25%).