These were new builds with the financing pre-arranged by the builder with a large lender when the subdivision first started. 

This arrangement can be attractive to buyers who have trouble getting conventional loans and to sellers who want to sell a property that may be difficult to finance through traditional means.

We ended up working out an arrangement where I kept the property, the carrier issued the $160,000 base policy limit to the prior owner and I paid an additional $50,000 but ended up negotiating and receiving another $30,000 from the insurance carrier.

Those will give you true long-term stability with minimal refinance risk — and you can shop around nationally for the best rates and lowest fees, rather than limiting yourself to local options.The key is working with a lender or broker who’ll stay with you through each phase — acquisition, rehab, and long-term hold — and understands how to navigate structured or corporate tenancy setups like sober living.If you’d like, I can share a few approaches we’ve used with investors doing multi-property BRRRRs under similar arrangements.

Yes, it’s definitely possible for your wife to gain REP status while working with an out-of-state property manager—as long as she’s actively involved in making investment decisions and managing the portfolio, the REP program allows for that kind of arrangement.

What's your current living arrangement - single, married, kids?

Work out an arrangement and see what works. 

I like the concept of keeping things simple.I would buy the property separately without your friend.It might sound fun doing a business with a friend but a business arrangement is almost like a marriage.One issue that I can see is the timing of sale - who gets to decide when to sell the propertyHow much time will each person spend?

At the absolute minimum, a title company could arrange the DOT and also tell you if there are any other recorded liens against this property.

Let me know and we can arrange to meet for a full buyers consultation, covering how the process and purchase contracts work.