To fund your next deal, explore conventional loans (15-25% down), FHA loans (3.5% down for house hacking), DSCR loans (based on rental income), or HELOC/cash-out refinance if you have equity.

Many lenders won't allow you to sell or refinance the properties individually if you have these on a blanket mortgage.

Your best bet is to ask for referrals from professionals in the space: realtors, other investors, this forum, FB groups, etc.

LOne common strategy is doing a cash-out refinance on one of your rental properties to tap into the equity.

You don't need to know everything to get started; you need a foundation to build on, and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months.

Your issue more so is the seasoning period for the refinance is what it sounds like.

Purchase Terms: Clearly outline the terms for your brother to purchase the property from you, including the timeline and price.To minimize the financial burden on your HELOC, refinance the property into a traditional mortgage as soon as possible.                                                                                           

You can talk to the bank about a loan; however, my bet is they will want some form of contract and scope of work and will only pay him at set milestones.

I bet both Columbus and Cincinnati made the list. 

There are quite a number of things that can make utilizing an FHA loan more difficult such as more barriers during appraisal, appearance of low qualification/little cash, typically longer closing period, likely higher interest rate, and PMI cannot be dropped without a refinance if 3.5% down.That said, just chain 5% down conventional loans, and make sure your duplexes pay for themselves.