If you don't have enough to buy with cash and will get a mortgage, I would focus on finding a good-value home with a solid CAP rate and Cash-on-Cash return that will appreciate and fit the most common rental size house in your area. 

I have been playing around with python to build financial models and wanted to get some tips on how to make my models more user friendly and better at solving common pain points.

That said, they also tell me that the rewards are worth it, with high returns and strong relationships with repeat borrowers being common outcomes.So, if you're exploring hard money lending, I think focusing on transparency, speed, and offering flexible loan terms will go a long way.

You can raise capital through family, it’s actually a very common practice.

Upfront fees for professional services are becoming more and more common though. 

But progress comes from embracing those mistakes and learning from them.

It may be common for a home of that age to have a failed sewer lateral, but that doesn't mean you have to accept it.

I'm not sure anything is going to change there anytime soon unless you want to share your common space with guests and go that route, as Airbnb traditionally started as.

Pretty common strategy as I understand.Does anyone know if I'll have to quit claim it back to my personal name in order to obtain a HEL?  

Here is one of my posts that will provide answer to the most commonly asked questions.