NoSoup,
I've been waiting to respond to see what other good advice you might get. BCD hit the nail on the head (and imagine that, he is a RE attorney that I told you you needed to talk to). The way to make money in this business is OPM. It is not realistic to pay all cash for properties, put more cash in them, and then sell them for a big % profit. It is not worth the risk to do it for a small profit either. You must have the mindset that borrowing money is a good thing. All everyone talks about is how bad debt is but it is how fortunes are made. I know you are in the lending business so you know all this but you need to believe it and do it. As BCD said, most commercial lenders will lend at least 75% LTV. They will want tax returns and such, but you are a good credit risk. They make loans for investment so they are not near as interested in the time at your last job etc. Your current investment property is a good example of your track record. Do not go to the big banks (BofA, Wachovia, etc), go to a local bank and talk to a commercial lending officer. Have your financials ready. Ask right upfront for a credit ap and assure the loan officer that you will sign personally. You have said you are unwilling to 'go all in'. If you are not willing to do this, no loan officer worth his salt will lend you money. Assure the loan officer that you will sweat blood to pay him back. You should be able to get your financing lined up so that when you find the right property, you will be able to jump on it. OK, enough pep talks.
You have to spend money to make money. Form an S corporation, do all your business through this corp. Have business cards made and be sure they say 'NoSoup - President'. Give your company a professional sounding name. Nothing corny or unprofessional. Think of something that will sound impressive when you read it in the paper. I'm serious here. Trump didn't start off with 'Donny's Duplex Company'. Get a business phone line. Even if it forwards to your cell. People will take advantage of you if they think you are doing this out of the trunk of your car. (Even if you are
) It will make you feel professional, and people will think of you as a professional.
You may know all this and hopefully you have done it already but it never hurts to reinforce some basic business ideas. There will always be people like eribrav. It is what makes the world go 'round. You have to have confidence in your ability. You said earlier you didn't want to go all in when you have so much to lose. I will argue that at your stage in life, you have very little to lose. You are probably not old enough to remember the old Nike commercials - JUST DO IT .
Some practical things. I guess you cannot get much less than 1% commission but these properties are going to sell themselves. You are going to have a 'For Sale' sign in the yard as soon as you start renovations. You will get lot's of calls. Be sure to spend money on landscaping. Paint the front door and replace the front door lockset with a fancy one. A handleset, not a doorknob. There is only one chance at a first impression and a cheap front doorknob says 'cheap'. The only regret I have ever had in deals I have done is that I sold them too cheap. Send me your pro-forma and I will tell you what I think. At least you won't have to worry about me stealing your deals in Green Bay.
Enough for now. Good Luck.