Ideas for Funding First Project

[Michael Hawrylak]

Good Morning BiggerPockets Community,

I am new to Real Estate Investing.   I grew up watching my father buy, renovate, and rent out properties.  When I was a young kid he had 13 total rental properties, all Duplex's all rented, So 26 units in total.   Unfortunately, he is no longer involved in real estate.

My wife and I are trying to get started in Real Estate Investing, both Flipping as well as Purchasing Rentals.  We currently own our own home, and this was our first purchase.  We do plan to rent this home out later in the future when we decide its time to move on to a new home.

Here is our current situation.  I work a full-time job, my wife is a travel agent and works from home.  Due to a custody battle, all of our funds got tied up with our attornies, and our credit is not so good at the moment.  

After digging into some of the basics in Real Estate Investing, I was wondering what you guys think of Hard Money Lenders?  My thought is that we could find our selves an Equity Partner who can put up the Down Payment or fund the entire project.   However, if they were to put up the down payment, do you guys feel that working with a Hard Money Lender would be wise considering we are just starting out?

Also, what other recommendations do yall have for us to fund projects with little to nothing out of our own pockets?  What worked for you in the past?

Thank you so much.  I look forward to reading your responses.