I realized that renting was basically throwing my money away.  

I did a little bit of googling but only found one source that basically stated that Texas is a non disclosure state, and I do not have to respond to this letter.

I'm basically looking for financing to buy my first SFH here in Southwest Florida.

Any basic advice I should be thinking about?

Bottom line in both of those, you need to get some basic education.What's your goal getting involved in REI?

I am essentially challenging the concept of straight forward pricing of multifamily via capitalized NOI, specifically because of what you said - things change and fluctuate.

Basically I'm looking to find the cash buyers/ investors looking to spend money on a flip.

I'm in So Cal so basically I would just like to find the deal let them know about it then represent them on the purchase and list it after they are done fixing it. they make money on the deal, I make money on the purchase and listing as well as knowledge and experience. 

I'm seeing the same with HUD listings now - basically anything that is a decent value and maybe a potential fix and flip is going to O/O only.

In the REI world, that means cut your losses, take your assumed appreciation now (before the mounting losses take that away), and move into an investment that makes money from the start.You're right, I don't think much of rationalizing how tax deductions (if it was a tax credit I would have greater appreciation for it), and a paid down principal (added equity that you can't use until you sell...so it's basically a trophy).