I agree with you, gurus should be held to a much higher standard, but newbies keep following them.

IMO just because a deal is outside of the box doesn't mean it's a bad deal and I sometimes feel like, for some agents that I've worked with, if it doesn't fit into a standard, cookie cutter, every single day agreement -- it's wrong.I believe if everyone is transparent, if everyone knows the risk and there is a base level of protection is given in a deal-- then is a deal is a deal.

The next paragraph is standard stuff.

I don't keep track of the market out there anymore, but to me it seemed like the market on Oahu was influenced greatly by international investors.

Since there is no approval on the second mortgage, you technically do not have an enforceable contract (all said assuming standard SS addendum is used - nor am I an attorney nor do I play one on TV or the internet).

Here are some links that may better assist you... http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/2013-Standard-Mileage-Rates-Up-1-Cent-per-Mile-for-Business,-Medical-and-Moving http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/ch04.html#en_US_2012_publink100033930http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc510.html Kudos, Mary

They borrow for internal purposes, supporting overall equity contributions, they borrow directly against their collateral, they borrow and lend securities under custodianship..

Standard insurance from Farmers, State Farm, Allstate etc is find they will require the policy has 6 months rent loss coverage which isn't much more and generally standard with most polices on rental properties.

My biggest lessons learned here were:1) Have more than enough reserves than you think you might need (or quick, reliable access to other cash)2) Know your standards, and stick to them3) Don’t give up long-term goals for short-term gains4) Have an exit strategy/mitigant in place for weak(er) tenants if you do accept them or are in your tenant pool due to geographical location.

I had a pretty standard comment for this as a lender.