My wife and I are starting our real estate journey.  We are considering getting a business line of credit on our rental property in the states.  We are living abroad.  We would like to know of any experience the membe...

Do you have a relationship with a local lender that would be more willing to work with you now & in the future vs. a larger institution to whom you're just a number and they don't really care about at all.

Hello Shane,The market is for real.The demand is high and a home is better then an institution.  

Then refinance through a different institution or union to draw the equity and pay off the HML.

Try to go to more than one institution and get numbers and data on what they can do for you.

Doesn't the buyer have to pay another down payment to the financial institution they acquire the loan from to actually purchase the home .So that's two down payments for the buyer.

Following are the similarities and differences between the solo 401k and the self-directed IRA.The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k SimilaritiesBoth were created by congress for individuals to save for retirement;Both may be invested in alternative investments such as real estate, precious metals tax liens, promissory notes, private company shares, and stocks and mutual funds, to name a few;Both allow for Roth contributions;Both are subject to prohibited transaction rules;Both are subject to federal taxes at time of distribution;Both allow for checkbook control for placing alternative investments;Both may be invested in annuities;Both are protected from creditors;Both allow for nondeductible contributions; andBoth are prohibited from investing in assets listed under I.R.C. 408(mThe Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k DifferencesIn order to open a solo 401k, self-employment, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, is required;To open a self-directed IRA, self-employment income is not required;In order to gain IRA checkbook control over the self-directed IRA funds, a limited liability companyThe Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k DifferencesIn order to open a solo 401k, self-employment, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, is required;To open a self-directed IRA, self-employment income is not required;In order to gain IRA checkbook control over the self-directed IRA funds, a limited liability company (IRA LLC) must be utilized;The solo 401k allows for checkbook control from the onset;The solo 401k allows for personal loan known as a solo 401k loan;It is prohibited to borrow from your IRA;The Solo 401k may be invested in life insurance;The self-directed IRA may not be invested in life insurance;The solo 401k allow for high contribution amounts (for 2018, the solo 401k contribution limit is $55,000, whereas the self-directed IRA contribution limit is $5,500);The solo 401k business owner can serve as trustee of the solo 401k;The self-directed IRA participant/owner may not serve as trustee or custodian of her IRA; instead, a trust company or bank institution is required;When distributions commence from the solo 401k a mandatory 20% of federal taxes must be withheld from each distribution and submitted electronically to the IRS by the 15th of the month following the date of each distribution;Rollovers and/or transfers from IRAs or qualified plans (e.g., former employer 401k) to a solo 401k are not reported on Form 5498, but rather on Form 5500-EZ, but only if the air market value of the solo 401k exceeds $250K as of the end of the plan year (generally 12/31);When funds are rolled over or transferred from an IRA or 401k to a self-directed IRA, the amount deposited into the self-directed IRA is reported on Form 5498 by the receiving self-directed IRA custodian by May of the year following the rollover/transfer.Rollovers (provided the 60 day rollover window is satisfied) from an IRA to a Solo 401k or self-directed IRA are reported on lines 15a and 15b of Form 1040;Pre-tax IRA contributions on reported on line 32 of Form 1040;Pre-tax solo 401k contributions are reported on line 28 of Form 1040;Roth solo 401k funds are subject to RMDs;A Roth 401k may be transferred to a Roth IRA (Note that from a planning perspective, it may be advantageous to transfer Roth Solo 401k funds to a Roth IRA before turning age 70 ½ in order to escape the Roth RMD requirement applicable to Roth 401k contributions including Roth Solo 401k contributions and earnings.)

Keep in mind that if your buyer is also going to be taking out another loan to cover all or some of his portion of the payment of the balance to you, the lending institution is going to want you to take a subordinate position to their first-lien note. 

I have considered designing all 9 or 10 homes and "pre-selling" based off the renderings and floor plans I design, to at least sell a couple to prove the idea before we break ground.I want to work directly with private investors, not traditional financial institutions.

FREE TIP: Outside of institutional sellers you will always get the best deals negotiating face to face with actual owners.