And would it be worthwhile investing to rent? 

therefore the OP will have a foreclosure on his/his LLC credit record, which would inhibit them from borrowing money for maybe 5 years.

I’m invested. 

And, since 2012, after FHFA was back on its feet, the Treasury has been paid an ongoing dividend on the earnings of FHFA. ie the government / taxpayers are making money on Fannie and Freddie, for bailing them out (more on this later).

I have been going back and forth between an appreciation focused investment versus a cash flow focused investment.

There are tons of hard money lenders out there, my question is why them?  

Quote from @Patrick Wood: I am new to real estate investing. 

Basically, the money used in this type of financing comes from "Wall Street".

Then you can read a more in-depth book like The Book On Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner or The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Spencer Strauss.You need to get a firm grasp on two things: the ways to make money with real estate, and how to find deals that match your goals.P.S.

The truth is if your investors have no involvement in the operations, If they just put in money and expect to get a profit, you have created a de facto syndication.2) I see a ton of people who just raise money for the syndication.