Too many real estate sites are fluff with no numbers or sense to back up opinions.

So a blanket policy that disqualifies everyone with a felony conviction doesn't make sense.

Probably something simple I am missing or the deal just doesn't make sense.3 condos, the owner has 14 out possible 48 in this complex and if the deal goes through may lead to more deals with her.the condos are 1/1, 2/1 and 2/2, she is asking 76k for the 2 2/1s and 64k for the one bedroom. total 216k, she would hold a second position note for 30k with me putting down the remainder of the 20% down (13,200) and pay closing costs. she would like 6 payments, one each year of 5200 for 6 years which comes out to 31200 total, about 1.5% interest rate if my calculations are correct.For simplicity, I am counting the 3 as a triplex, so rental income is 2325/month, tenants pay for electric and gas, HOA of 185(555) per pays for water, sewer and garbage as well as exterior and common area maintenance, snow removal, grass cutting, etc. taxes are 266 and insurance is 50 month (HO-6) policy which I hadn't heard of before.

If you have equity you can pull part of that to invest in other properties so being a homeowner can make investing easier that way .Has to still be in the right area though, in L.A for example it’s super tough to find a house hacking deal that makes sense even if you go in rough areas , plus there is rent control .I don’t know much about the market in Sarasota , but have bought properties in other parts of FL, prices in decent areas are a lot more reasonable than CA

But property values are very high around here and it's difficult to find rentals that make sense that you don't have to pay cash for. 

2) How do I know if the price of the home makes sense?

But it's very common in a commercial lease for the landlord to get a percentage of the business' profit, so you wouldn't stand out. 

@Kenneth Liz only offer what makes sense to you.

Find a deal and payments that works and makes sense for you.

Pick what you love and use the BP resources to learn as much as you can but don't forget to take action when it makes sense.