Always nice when you can save on materials.  

Connectlinx.com is a great alternative!

Define your target investors: alternative investors, passive income seekers, or industry enthusiasts.

What alternative funding options did you explore?

There is some deferred maintenance tenant want me to take care of in the bathroom and kitchen in a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom house. The work should take about 4-5 days. The work is pretty extensive so I want tenant to move...

Any deviation from in-kind materials will need to be approved by the historic commission.

Be prepared to provide alternative proof of income if you don’t yet have the required tax returns.

Some alternatives that I have considered is purchasing a single-family home, living in it for a year as a primary and then moving and renting it out, or looking for a single-family home with a decent-sized basement and converting that into a unit.

Unlike the stock market, you can also use leverage, which could significantly increase your ROI.The bottom line is that you can get better returns investing in alternatives (real estate or otherwise) and more control investing in real estate (you have zero control over the stock market).

Not sure if it would make sense for you specifically, would need to know a bit more about your situation and everything, some people we help that are looking to consolidate debt consider refinancing to lump all their payments together since a primary residence lending option has lower rates than some of the alternatives.