The idea of learning skills to secure ones financial future was very appealing to me, because growing up in a working-class family I saw my parents work so hard, and yet they were still struggling financially.

There have been many caught at this and yes the FBI will nail them.. there was a case in NC 10 years or so ago were guys got huge fines and jail time.basically if your at a sale and two or three bidders are going for the same property and they start whispering to each other then suddenly stop or the property gets sold for 1 dollar over you kind of know some deal was made.In our market there were many that would just show up with cashiers check's qualify to bid with no intention of buying their only reason for being there was to get the 1 to 2k pay off.

I wanted to see if anybody had any input on what to do/where to go to qualify for a low % down payment.

Have him/her contact their lender to find out if they would qualify for a short sale.

Andy Collins Just wondering Andy but what do you personally qualify as a "great deal".

And I already have a list of pre-qualified, cash-paying tenant-buyers as long as my arm.

You would gain a lot of marketing skills to use for future projects that you will have in your investing career.

Investing/saving is an import skill to have.

Investors can pick up VA foreclosures with limited down (5% if I recall) and you don't need to be veteran to qualify.

If they did, and were well qualified, I'd give references.It's amazing to me that some tenants have terrible experiences with landlords and don't think to check out their new landlord and property manager.