If you are starting out and have W-2 income likely you would want to keep that for loan qualification but once your portfolio is established you can choose what other, if any, income you want to spend your time developing.

Chicago burbs -Have a property in great condition , great location :seller Asking : 250K ; home in default , preforeclosure , outstanding Loan: 178 K , house worth about 260K Motivatedis there any way to make a deal ?

Value (mostly sfr/cnd not apt), debt, equity, loan details, transaction history, parcel maps, etc.

The reason for the seller's willingness to discount that much in today's climate, from what info I have so far, is due to the extremely low rate on the modified loan (less than 2%, recast for a new 30 year term).So due to the rate, even at 50% of UPB, the return on my investment would be around 4% after considering servicing fees, etc., which is not nearly enough to interest me in this deal, considering the risks of borrower re-default, etc. 

My ideal situation would be to place it on a loan as soon as I can to recoup my cash back and gain buying power again.

Obviously there are various types of loans you can get, especially being a first time home buyer and making this your primary residence...

We had been "househacking" or renting our old condos before that. 12 months ago, we paid cash for our current rental (because we couldn't get a loan as a result of a recent short sale). 

Thinking about refinancing to get a lower payment, or cash out refi or Home equity loan which would free up more cash to speed up the process and use that money for a down payment. 

This is value add opportunity- rents had previously been under market value (450/month) and since acquiring the property and renovating it, the management team recently raised the rents to match market value in the area (525/month) The property is projected to generate over 25k of monthly income, a cash flow of almost 11k a month, and the annual cash on cash ROIis projected to be nearly 32% This would be my first large multi-unit apartment deal and I’m looking to either obtain a commercial loan for the property or (ideally) find private/hard money lender that would might also (eventually) serve as a partner/mentor/associate/eventual first to a smart, hardworking, and ambitious young real estate investor.

I got a little over $17,000 back.I inquired on getting a rental property next, only to find out that my debt to income ratio is slightly too much to get a loan through the bank.