Wife did not let me keep the cards.

If you have no money now and no experience this is all a very big pipe dream..

Can anyone answer the typical payment lag for ACH or credit card processing?

I found them to be totally useless and thankfully I had to have the card linked with billing replaced after I lost my wallet.

Things I'm considering but would love to hear everyone's pros and cons on: friends and family, hard money, credit cards, others?

i really think it's that simple.and, for me personally, if i have long term tenants that have consistently paid on time and had no issues for several years, i will usually get them a gift card or something at year 3 or 5.there is no consensus on BP on this. 

Or even better, pre pay with your visa card for 20 minutes worth.

The lender told me they got no score because I was paying my credit card balance to zero.

We have transitioned one of our properties just recently to us owning them and using cards.

hahaKeep the dream alive and wishing you much success