My humble advice to anyone attempting to do creative finance is:Creative finance is for experienced investors who have access to capital if anything goes wrong.Learn the lawsDon't use a contract "off the internet", laws vary by state and are also regulated on a federal levelLearn the financing techniques correctlyDon’t skip parts of the processDon’t ever do a “kitchen table” closingUse the proper deedAn attorney can help you with the legal work, but the rest you are on your ownYour guru will not bail you out“Investing” in someone else’s deal by providing a small 2nd loan so the “investor” can pay for “cash to the seller” and for “closing costs” so he can do the deal is a very bad planKnow what problems can ariseLearn the responses and solutions to problems before they are neededKnow everything there is to know about Title and what that meansKnow who a "protected class" individual isLearn the "back doors"Learn human natureUnderstand timelinesUnderstand regulation enforcement (some of these "mistakes" have a 10 year statue of limitations ( they can charge you 10 years AFTER you do the transaction) and carry hefty fines and possible imprisonmentThe court doesn't accept "I didn't know" for an answer"Know that the source of the lead plays a serious role in some states and federallyKnow how much of a "profit" pushes the boundaries to invite an investigationYou can be sued by the seller if you don’t do things correctlyYou are automatically at fault if an investigator or attorney or regulator gets involved.

Feel free to message me, I can give you a better idea of the expenses involved, in NYC the soft cost can be overwhelming. 

Less risky and hassle if no partner was involved. 

Ability to take more money home (same a number 1), but you need to factor time involved etc.  

Quote from @Rob Schwartz: I’m a small property owner and learned this one the hard way.I've used Zillow and it's been great for getting eyes on my listings, but I’ve stopped trusting it as a final screening step.

So glad to hear that the FBI is fully involved.

I plan after meeting the team, verifying the deals and "looking the bloke in his beady little eyes" as he put it, to connect with a realtor or other professional to do the walk thru for me in the future as I don't want to have to make that trip each time.    

Looking forward to getting more involved in the BP community.

Having your wealth spread across multiple properties is a form of diversification.For someone just starting out, I think the class of property or market is less important than the people you will be involved with (tenants, contractors, property managers). 

We don't have a formal construction background, but are capable of the basic work not involving permits.