When you don't qualify for a single family house you can qualify for a multi-family

I bet you didn't know something cool  -  banks allow 75% of potential rental income to be subtracted when figuring out your monthly payment when buying a multi-family zoned property (duplex, triplex or a fourplex (anything bigger than a 4-plex is commercial, no longer residential))!
For those math inclined, here is an example:
Duplex: $124,000 you're buying it FHA 3.5% down: $124,000 - $4,340 = $119,660 - your loan amount ( there might be 2% and 0 down available conventional).  Mortgage payment at 3.6% interest (that's today's interest rate from Bank of America) comes to $544 a month, the tax is, say, $150, the mortgage insurance is around $120 (if you get a conventional loan you won't have mortgage insurance) and property insurance, say, about $80, so the total everything payment comes out to be about $890 a month. And then the good part: one of the units is rented, or you could rent it out for $600 a month. Bank will deduct 75% of that ($450) from your total payment: 890 - 450 = 440. That means the monthly payment you'd have to qualify for is only $440 !!! By any standards, even the most strict, your income can be as low as $1100 a month! And when you qualify for the loan, then you can go get government downpayment assistance and pay nothing down at all (that's if you don't happen to have any money).

Examples of some available properties:

Two beautiful 2-bedroom houses in Puyallup on a .41 acre lot for only $184,000, within walking distance to hospitals and downtown. Total monthly payment comes out to about $1200, and if you rent one of the houses you'd be paying only $400 to $600 a month.

Duplexes in Lakewood with two 2-bedroom units:
                               
$124,000 with 2 garages    $149,000 plus huge barn    $135,000 townhouse style

$149,000 a gorgeous turn of the century duplex very near downtown Tacoma, one 3-bedroom unit and one 2-bedroom unit, plus a 2-car garage and two more extra bonus rooms!

A huge spooky place on a dead end road totally private on 5 acres $175,000

You are lost, you end up on a dead end road, nothing in sight but trees. You look around and notice a dirt road. You check your cell - no service. You drive onto the dirt road, leading through the trees up the hillside, thinking that at least you can maybe make a phone call. You come out by a very old creepy house. There is not a sound, but the wind blowing in the tree branches. You nervously get out of the car, thinking, "How is this place possible!". You hear a strange sound like bubbles bursting - you notice a pond completely covered with green muck surrounding the remains of a raised lid - probably an old septic tank. The muck moves suspiciously and some bubbles burst again. You expect some mutant giant toad with teeth to jump at you and hurry to the porch. You knock, nothing happens. You try the door - it opens with a squeak. It is dark inside. Suddenly you feel cold steel on your temple and you stand perfectly still. Your heart tries to leap up and away, but, without cooperation from the body, ends up lodged in your throat. You slowly shift your eyeballs and see an ancient old man, probably a hundred years old, maybe two, holding a rifle. He grins and spits unto the invisible floor, and you think, "great, now he is going to get out his rusty old chainsaw..." You stutter, "I'm just here to look at the house for sale. I'm sorry. Can I just use your phone?" The old man says, "Follow me," but holds on to the rifle. He leads you into a dining room and points to a chair by an old heavy wooden table. He leaves and comes back with a glass of water and puts it in front of you. As you pick up the glass, he says with significance, "Spring water, no chemicals in it." You shudder and put the glass back down.
Wouldn't you like to own this spooky old house on 5 acres zoned Anything Goes? Of course it needs a bit of elbow grease, and you probably want to boil that water before drinking it, but where else can you get a huge self-sustaining echo farm minutes away from the city! You could have a machine shop, fill up the 5 acres with old cars, or get some goats and chickens... The possibilities are endless... Your lucky day - the property can be purchased with owner financing with a reasonable downpayment (min 20%).

I got my real estate license last week!

So write to me using the contact form if you want me to help you buy a house in Seattle-Tacoma area!

Forming a Real Estate Investment Trust - REIT

REIT can be a better way to go than a partnership if you have a whole bunch of friends who want a piece of action, and if the idea of the trust is not to just get a home and live in it, but get a rental house or an apartment building - something income producing. You form the trust and use everyone's money to buy something. You distribute the profits to all the investors. The benefits of the REIT are that: the trust doesn't have to pay taxes on the profits, only the investors do, just like in a partnership; and you can sell trust certificates to anyone cheap to raise more money.
www.sec.gov/answers/reits.html

Form a Partnership to buy a house

It can be a great idea to purchase a house with a partner. Especially if the house is like a split level or duplex, where each partner can live without bothering the other. If the house costs $100,000 your half will cost only $50,000. You divide the utilities, insurance and taxes in half as well, making your personal monthly share including everything only about $300/month!
There are two types of partnerships:
In a general partnership each person shares equally in the responsibilities, the decision making, and the maintenance, and is equally liable for any debts or incurred costs.
In a limited partnership one or more partners are in charge, and are personally liable for everything that goes wrong. The limited partners do nothing, pretty much, they just invest some money, and they are only liable for the amount of money they invested. An example of a limited partnership would be if you and your best friend buy a duplex, and your friend's grandpa invests $10,000 to help you out, but will not be participating in any lawn mowing.
Each partner is responsible for paying taxes on income received from the partnership.
The partnerships are governed by the Uniform Partnership Act (UPA).