Quote from @Mathew Chacko: Quote from @Na Person:  I too was a little skeptical of sending a large cash payment to an unlicensed entity (1031 facilitators do not need a license). 

What I personally do is I will hire a local Civil engineer who has done subdivisions in the jurisdiction and I will pay them up front for a detailed feasibility study.

I know my personal tax accountant isn't knowledgeable enough for property investment write-offs.

Personally, I started my investment journey with multifamily properties before moving into single-family homes.

Also interested in networking to learn more about my personal interest in STR's primarily in the Tampa, Bradenton, and Sarasota markets along with other southeast coastal and mountain markets. 

This could give you the cash you need for the purchase and also eliminate your personal guarantee for the loans.

Being a curious person, I gained an interest in real estate investing due to other classmates being interested in real estate.

@Steffany Boldrini As a lesson to other people hiring interior decorators online, can you please tell everyone what caution flags should have told you not to hire this person?

If you personally are having trouble making a profitable deal, make a post and ask for suggestions.  

Quote from @Michael Challenger: I have no qualms with hard money lending, but I need to learn more about the process and structure to these for typical deals so that I am more comfortable and in a position to reduce my personal risk and risk to investors as much as possible.