Because I did everything wrong, started with basically nothing and STILL achieved financial freedom, I know for a fact that anyone can do what I did. 

Financial Highlights•Acquisition Price: $72,000•Renovation Costs: $35,600•Total Investment: $107,600•Funds: raised from personal savings and private lender How did you add value to the deal?

You are an unlicensed financial advisor.  

I was able to become financially independent in 2 years with two properties.

If you got diddly-squat for financial capacity, there is a lot of risk of something going bad during operation of the property.

(Due to some financial issues with him in the past, I'm not willing to cosign for him)  Would a rental agreement with the roommates suffice? 

My end game is to show you a path to financial independence, whether that be at 45 yrs old or 70 yr old.  

I am a newbie in this realm and looking forward to learning all I can in this endeavor of becoming financially independent.

@Greg StrunakA good real estate accountant can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation and tax planning.I recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year.

They literally went through each operating agreement and prepared an email listing out each member of each LLC and clarifying they each had to guarantee the loan despite the fact none of those entities were even being used for the purchase (which was previously explained to Dominion Financial).