My wife and I have obtained three traditional loans and one lease with the option to purchase, resulting in most banks turning us down based on debt to income (non-portfolio lenders). 

Our current lender is offering us 170K cash out refi ( I will be researching this in a greater detail ).

As long as you're not in a rush, we always recommend spending some time asking questions of DSCR lenders you might be looking at.

Hard money lenders are much more like banks and come with many restrictions, requirements, due diligence, fees, etc.

Speak with lenders early to understand your borrowing power, and explore multifamily properties to maximize your house-hacking potential.

If you are going to finance your rehab then use a LLC to purchase and a rehab lender for financing. 

I'm not sure why not - one of the great parts about real estate investing is that you can build a team around you for aspects you aren't as strong at or simply want to delegate to someone/expert and do the others yourself - look up "Core 4" for example - where you can have an agent, lender, manager, contractor all at once for your investments and can theoretically just let them do all the interactive work

They’re a fantastic way to connect with local investors who can share their experiences and recommend trusted professionals they work with.You’ll likely meet key members of your team at these events, including insurance agents, title companies, lenders, realtors, and even wholesalers.

Did you use one lender for all of your loans?

Rodrigues is an awesome LOCAL lender, who works a lot with foreigners.