I am bullish on the FHA 203k and home-style renovation loans that allow you to leverage the cost of your renovation as part of your mortgage, which is just an insane deal, in my opinion.Do you have a specific area where you want to purchase?

We financed this deal using a residential VA Loan.

While you work on that, you could also explore creative financing options like DSCR loans or partnerships to fast-track your first STR.

I bought this property with a private interest free loan from a friend. the person i bought it from need cash fast so i offered them a low cash offer and they accepted.I had enough money saved up to rehab the house with my savings.

The most important thing is to ensure your loan is covered in the event of a loss.  

Since i had capital and had access to my commercial banks for the best rates possible on vertical and horizontal loans..

The other route you can look into is purchase+rehab loans if it's going to be a primary, if it's an investment then using hard money, bridge loan, or DSCR.

I've never done any Sacramento STR loans and only been hit up for one potential financing opportunity there.

I have gotten a few loans through Kiavi.

I'm feeling most drawn to a buy and hold rental investing strategy and like the idea of the BRRRR strategy in tandem with VA loans, basically refinancing VA loan backed mortgages to conventional loans once there is 20% equity in the home.