That activity is not for newbies, unless you are a contractor.Yes, we all start somewhere and a safer way to get started is by buying your first home, then a buy and hold SFR to gain experience rehabbing...First of all, flipping a house is not investing. 

., and then hopefully the conversation can flow into this alternative way you can help them.

We offer alternative options and would I love to discuss what your long terms goals are.

@Tony HofferSince you already have individual 401k plan established you can easily convert that into self-directed Solo 401k and use that for alternative investments.

Dane, if both you and your wife are part of the business then both of your can roll over each of your retirement accounts (with the exception being Roth IRA) into newly setup Solo 401k plan and use those funds for alternative investments.  

Up until now I've been using private lending partners, friends, and family money but we are buying more homes than we have funds for so am looking for alternative funding sources.  

Although there are many variations, a cap rate is often calculated as the ratio between the net operating income produced by an asset and the original capital cost (the price paid to buy the asset) or alternatively its current market value. 

We would like to have our equity from this house (~$80k) to use to fund other (safer) investments we have lined up in Indy and Ohio.

Alternatively, lender might counter your offer with something higher than you proposed to cover their added expense.

I am also considering replacing my swamp coolers with an alternative cooling method.