In other words, individuals would save their funds and then the funds would only be combined at the closing table when applied to the purchase.

I think if you combined a private lender for some of the down payment and you borrowed the rest from the bank it could work, buy you definitely need to buy at a discount.

Also, when you've identified the properties you want, use the citizen access portal (no account needed to use the Search function) to check the 'Enforcement' tab for outstanding issues the city/county has with the property, AND to see what issues have come up in the past.  

Also found solid success in seller finance deals where we combined our real estate and note experience to make WIN/WINs for renters and us.

This is just a function of prices, interest rates, and rents.

Use the Lookup function with my name and Deal Analysis. 

When I read the codes website, certain areas are clearly illegal to STR in Treasure Island, for instance, but I've stayed in several in that area and they are fully functioning, operating businesses within condo buildings that contain a mix of permanent residents and STR tenants. 

@Ujwal Velagapudi - How much of the rent declines do you think are a function of existing homeowners, now working remotely, putting their properties on the market for way less than they should because they’re not professional investors?

The market is hot because it's a perfect combination of: 1) Low inventory on the market (large buyer pool competing for fewer houses)2) Very high buyer demand (everyone wants to buy, and there are a lot of people relocating to AZ)3) Interest rates are low, which further fuels #2 above 4) Tempe has always been a popular place to live and it's landlocked so it's not like buyers can go further out to the new developments of Tempe (there aren't any)

Anything to make the home more functional or adding more storage space, is great too.