In my opinion it depends just how dedicated you plan to be to your chosen market.

Because those loans to owner occupants would require licensed lenders, per the SAFE act, there are very limited numbers of hard money lenders available.Because of the added complexity of lender licensing, and the added layers of regulatory compliance, most hard money and private lenders have chosen not to become licensed, therefore, there are very few who will lend to owner occupants.

I know your excited about growing your business but couldn't you have chosen a different post title?

How big it is is a function of the house you've chosen, not the bank.

I did some research for a client of mine regarding a raffle of cosmetic surgery and raffles appear to be gambling (at least in the state he wanted to do it).It may be different if you were doing it for charity -- as in, all proceeds go to the charity and no one profits from it.

There is a thread going, but I don't think they have chosen the next date yet.

Just to piggyback on Ned Carey and Marco Santarelli's points about jobs - you may want to consider who the major employers in your chosen area are (and the diversity of those employers)...

I'm interested in investing, not gambling, so I'll stick to reading until I'm ready.

I have chosen to put all my rentals into 1 LLC even though I know a series LLC would provide more protection.

In the words of Hyman Roth "This is the business we have chosen."