My other strategy is simply go off of the MLS and then I work with my RE agent who understands investment properties too, to look up comps for sales and rent.

Another option is for you to make the payment to the note holder, you could simply be a tenant and do that.A bigger issue is changing the insured on the insurance policy, this can be arranged with the agent to show you as a loss payee or an additional insured.

I simply do not go look at houses unless I've got them under contract or have told the seller my general number and am pretty certain I'm going to buy it.I don't do a lot of direct to seller marketing anymore, but when I do I'm more trying to weed out the non motivated people than sell someone on me when I talk to them. 

@Bill Gulley I was referring to investor to investor selling/buying utilizing seller financing, as entering into these transactions with owner occupants is over my head, but clearly in your wheel house :)Would there be any issue with OP selling on these terms (seller financing) to another investor?

With land, you don't need much capital to start, you simply have to find the properties that are unwanted such as properties of a dead relative which have been collecting unpaid back taxes, or land that has been unattended for years and people don't even realize they still have it.

Both banks I used have known me for quite awhile and they know that I'm experienced and would not enter into the deal if it didn't make sense for me and them. 

If the deal is structured correctly and your lender calculates out the costs correctly, you can get in for simply 3.5% out of pocket.

Interested parties simply contacted our realtor (he had applications at the open house) with all of the required documentation (paystubs, application, application fee).

I love this idea and it simply states that every 90 days you have some little "Holiday" scheduled for yourself.

They can, at least currently, make many loans that the larger “outside” non-depository lenders cannot because they are often willing to make loans that simply break even in order to service the related company.