Looking for input on best lending options and business structure

[Shawn F. Kiesling]

Hello, I am a new investor based out of Central Florida.  I have read so much great information through this site and want to thank BP and all the members who have posted/commented/added along the way.

This is kind of a 2 part question.  Part1 regards lending, part 2 regards business structure.  I may repost to the business area, but figure people will chime in on both topics.

Details:

I have 2 properties lined up to buy, pending final inspection and possibly a 3rd property.  2 properties have 2 houses on them, 1 property will require a variance or special permit in order to legally rent 2nd house on that property (but it could be used as storage for materials, etc for rehabs).  I am also looking at a 3rd property in an historic district with 1 house.

The combined rent of these 3 properties, at this time should be $4400/month on the low side without going crazy on the rehabs.  If I can get that 2nd house legally rentable, and go higher end on all 3 property rehabs, I could probably get around $5000/month, with rent rates expected to rise in the future.

We have the cash to buy all 3 properties.  My small amount of remaining cash plus available credit limits will not be enough to rehab all properties at the minimum level, much less go all out.  So I need some lending options/ advice.  I am pretty open minded on the lending, but would prefer to not use Hard money due to the high rates.  I would like to get long term lending in place with reasonable rates as my goal is to hold all 3 properties.   The money used to purchase the 3 properties is off an equity line, so it needs to be replaced at some point.  I was thinking about possibly combining some combination of the properties (3 properties, 5 homes total) as collateral to get the money for rehab of all properties and minimize my cash output or possibly get some cash at closing for the next deal.   700 plus credit score.  So, what type of lending should I use?  Give me some feedback, please.  

I do have considerable experience rehabbing homes, they just belonged to the banks, not me.  I have all the subs, etc in place, and I know how to stretch the dollar, so I expect my costs will run on the low side as compared to others I know.  

2nd question is:

What business structure should I use? I am leaning LLC, but I have heard that LLC lending is tougher than private lending. Without the LLC, I would expect some additional CYA paperwork, etc to cover ourselves. Are my thoughts on LLC lending off base? And yes, I know I should have had this dialed in before now. These deals just popped up and I got em, now I got to figure out what to do with em.

Alright, I think I gave the pertinent details without laying out too much of my private life.  So let me know your thoughts.  Let me know if you need more/ different detail.  Thank you in advance for any and all input and feedback.  And yes, I am very aware that I jumped in, possibly over my head.  Thank you and have a great day!