It might work for LTRs but not for STRs.Your best bet is to keep a good maintenance fund ready to go to cover repairs.The most important thing is regular maintenance.

Further, there are a wide spectrum of lenders that can range from very good to very bad among lenders that brand themselves as "Private Money" "Hard Money" or "Private Lenders"Your best bet is likely to follow reviews and like you've been doing now with partnerships that you trust, but your instinct is right to have relationships with multiple lenders and options. 

That’s the best bet.

If I'm on a job for some reason; and there's something that needs done that needs some muscle, you can bet I'm not opposed to asking a man for help. 

I've found some lenders that will go up to 80% sometimes, but I think your best bet might be a government-backed loan if you want such a high LTV ratio.

I bet that is a lot of it.. the guy appears to be somewhat of a bully from what I read between the lines.. and of course some of these folks on this site followed his advice and basically do the same model that he does .. so it probably is not great that the risks of that model are popping up for them to deal with..  

Your best bet would be to take a look at a combination of cash outs / or maybe just one in order to obtain your proceeds for the new purchase.

But I’ll bet  you’ve developed a great “feel” for when to “work” with a tenant and when to get “tough”  

I would however get into the habit of increasing rent every year, even if it is a small amount-it adds up and I'll bet your costs (insurance, taxes, etc) go up every year.

If you buy now you are betting your criteria will be similar when you retire.