Have you pulled back the reigns, or shifted your focus to other markets?

My only message with this post was provide the "other side of the coin" perspective.  

Appreciate the renters perspective Paul Crawford

Obviously I wish we could avoid this, but from a financial perspective, if I know I can use my great credit going forward and will be handling all financial items, do I care about using my savings to dig out of this hole, or just go forward with much easier loans, which I can get approved for with much less hassle.

I don't know your market but there isn't much meat on that bone from a cash flow perspective... putting 15% down and paying for repairs makes it ugly in terms of CoC.The structure itself... it's about what you'd get from a credit union... 5% is likely a little lower on a 30 year amort but with the 10 year balloon it is similar. 

i am looking to break into the real estate market and get out of my late night shift job.

He lives in another nearby small town 20 min away where he handles the night shift taking care of his mother.

One thing "coming from a contractors perspective on this" I would recommend is pay attention to the transitions and where they happen!

My perspective was metrics used as guidance for purchase. 

I don't know if I am right or wrong - time will tell - but I shift from "cautious" to "ultra cautious" mode when I review potential deals.