Brad, this is definately a personal decision in which more factors than have been discussed would come into play.

I guess that could come into play, however this specific lender is a portfolio lender who keeps all loans in-house.

If not, you can get IRS troubles.The key is to know how to properly play the game.

Nowhere does he write that the seller is living in this property.While you may have taken your ball and gone home on this thread, I hope you'll come back to play on others, since you have a lot of good knowledge to impart ;-)

I think I wasn't understanding the way the deal plays out....no wonder everyone was wondering why I ddnt want to offer ernest money....I just heard alot of horror stories and to keep shellin out money when your just starting out can be draining...to say the least

Also, I'd love to hear if BP played any role in helping you make this happen.

I played this for my wife. http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/01/24/subject-to-direct-mail-woman-investing-podcast/Best wishes in your new adventures!

Some markets are spec play driven.Another key is not only the starting cap but what has the 5 to 10 year historical rent range been??

The goal to set up a sale and with face to face and no game playing maybe you can work something out.

If you are ping to play with real estate at least protect yourself from other peoples errors.