I found a lender and started the refi process. 

I have been learning how the process works and there are a lot of resources for how to interview a sponsor and review the deal, but how do you initially access the deals to review?

When you do a little extra work ahead of time, the process goes so much more smoothly.

Do your homework first - then you'll be ready for a more meaningful conversation with a landlord.Best...Thanks for your response. so I have researched the rates and I understand that screening a tenant is crucial. mu biggest concerns are the carrying costs until a tenant is filled as I’ve heard the process can take up to 3 months to find a tenant.

You will have two separate K-1s as you are each individual owners.  

It really depends on what you are looking and I think your thought process is correct.

.), how litigious is your state, your own loss history/ratio as an individual investor, the carrier's overall loss ratio in a certain state/area, the deductibles you've elected, etc. 

I am looking to make a couple connections now during the moving process.

We currently work with out of state investors and provide a full service approach which can be used by in state investors as well.When it comes to investing I'm currently in the process of closing on a partnered 4 Unit in Milwaukee WI.

Quote from @Michael Challenger: I have no qualms with hard money lending, but I need to learn more about the process and structure to these for typical deals so that I am more comfortable and in a position to reduce my personal risk and risk to investors as much as possible.