There’d need to be a lot of rehab work/managing that would require you to put in that many hours.From a financial perspective, it seems like the highest leverage way to keep buying more properties is leveraging your W-2’s and then being work optional.

So my understanding is it's still one of my best options for a loan. 

If you want help structuring a scope of work or exploring different financing options, feel free to reach out—happy to offer insights!

Evaluating different options from that standpoint will allow you to best determine what will truly move the needle in terms of your wealth building. 

I also want to keep the option open for converting to condo down the road and as long as I am in the apartment doing so much work I might as well.

I've seen numerous QI's fail during my 40 years in the business, and most of the failures would have been prevented had their been government oversight. 

Could be an option in your area.  

Would this be better to try and go through a local bank or is there good options for private money or other banks that specialize in this?

I think a mix might be a good option.

For a simple/budget-friendly option, Google sheets/Excel can actually be a great starting point.8.