Also - although I am fairly financial saavy (with equities etc), I am a total newbie to the RE market - have been a renter my entire life.here are some questions for you guys:1) assuming i will stay in one of the units, I should be able to finance it using the standard ridiculously low mortgage rates, correct?

Sure, some people may ridicule you, even if they don’t say it to your face – you’ll live, won’t you?

On top of that, some of these lenders are getting ridiculous and flirting with the fact that Dodd-Frank is barely being enforced, CFPB at this point is basically asleep at the wheel.

See above.Obviously when I started in REI I feared failure, ridicule, not being enough, all those things that are natural.

All in all, I think this is worth about as much as the toilet paper I just flushed.The general concept of COC is good, and a great idea with seller financing, but adding on all the other ridiculous charges is assuming youre going to hook someone with a FANTASTIC INCOME but HORRIBLE credit.

I own a 3 unit and a 4 unit both in NB, in C neighborhoods and even through massive screening, some of my tenants are ridiculous with requests and complaints (They use a similar section 8 program called SouthShore Housing).

As others have said that range is ridiculously big for the ARV!

And with todays ridiculously low fixed interest rates you lock in your cost.

Many times the wording is such that they won't even bother accepting offers except through the auction site, wherein the buyer has to pay a bunch of fees outside of the auction bid to participate and usually waives all contingencies (inspection, etc). 99% of these end up not selling at all around here until they make it to the MLS for good outside of the auction site, because the reserve and/or opening bid are ridiculous for the property. 

Purchase prices have increased at a rate that far outstrips the ability of the rental market to support profitable rent rates, even with the median income in Seattle climbing to $70K+.More than any laws the city might or might not have enacted that are not favorable to investors, ridiculous prices are what kills the city as a potential investment location for me.That being said, buy-holds in Seattle-Bellevue can still make sense IF monthly cash-flow isn't your primary goal.