I found him tenants with good credit before the end of the month.

If your credit is good and you can scrape $25K together, you would be better off buying a SF rental.

Verifying last 2 years of rental history very important!

Liquidity is dry, debt is super super high on credit/auto.

I am in the process of settlement on my 1st property in 1 week. i have a 5% down conv loan thru a credit union bank. this a duplex and is a row house. i plan to live in one unit and rent out the other. the seller is also selling the duplex property next to it.

I have an 800+ credit score and access to over $100k in revolving credit and much more than that in personal loan offers, but currently have less than $10k in cash reserves, which I plan to build back up to $20k in two months.My mom, in her mid-50s, wants to invest in real estate as a means to improve her retirement.

Also loss history can play a significant role. 

As for BRRRRing, there are definitely people that use private money lenders as credit lines on deals.  

You can call local banks typically credit unions in the area to see if they have a construction loan product.

Do you have consumer debt (car notes, credit cards, etc.)?