id take a walk on this 1 you will never get your money back on that let it go to auction the owner mite not like it but it be better on you some body mite get it less than what they want they owe to much some buddy is going to take a hit let it be the bank the owner is allready in trouble dont waste ur time 

Lean heavily on the wisdom of your "team" as you look for your first deal.I hope it goes well for you.Mike

Im leaning towards lease to own therefore I do need to think in terms of my exit and not easy financing.

then new bp person starts looking for mentor. my feeling is first step aka take action should  be call a banker find out if they can get qualified leaning toward owner occupied.  

I also have a list of appx. 50 potential motivated sellers (properties in probate) that I plan to mail out every Friday, and another list of b/w 50 - 100 potential sellers that I plan to mail out once a month (recipients of NOD.)Because my letters are individualized (in the body of the letters I mention their property address), I need to have all my letters be prepared by me - using mail merge, of course. 

I am a real estate investor and designer masquerading in an accountants body.

PM me if you're interested in brainstorming more as I always enjoy to lean about other's experience and observations.  

I am leaning towards going with the small local one we have been doing our buying from for the last few years. 

Elizabeth; I lean towards buy and hold myself.

Typically, courts will lean in favor of the tenant (hence the reason landlords should have proper documentation).