And by "institutions", I did mean more  in the way of 'institutional lenders', like banks or private mortgage companies as opposed to private or hard money lenders.

Private Money Lenders (Kiavi, LendingOne, Private Individuals) Fix and Flip productsWho did you get the loans through?

I agree with Jonathan that most people focus on a cute website, logo, CRM, etc.Use an underwriting template that you fell comfortable with, start with opting into broker's list, call them, and get on property tours.

Lastly, network with some of the private lenders in your area and see if any would be interested in funding you quickly as needed. 

'Investing in Real Estate Private Equity' by Sean Cook is a great intro level book, that assumes you know nothing about the syndication space but it doesn't treat you like an idiot either, it takes you along and educates you2. higher level is "CRE analysis and investments" , a textbook by Geltner et al. which I loved, breaks down all aspects of CRE, how to underwrite etc. 3. lots of online stuff helpful too, like The Real Estate Syndication Show, recent episode belowOver 100 Passive Investments and Lessons Learned with Joe Fairless (youtube.com)4.

He said what most people do, is install their own private meter somewhere along the tenants pipes.

Finding a private lender?

I'm considering giving them a tour just to see how I feel when I meet him.

Obviously, based on my relationship with the company, I'm not unbiased, but most people here on BiggerPockets know that I value my reputation above all, and when I agreed to join FTF as an advisor a couple years ago, it was because I was very impressed not only with their business model and underwriting guidelines, but with the CEO (Matt Rodak) and the rest of the management team.I have no requirement to invest my own money on the FTF platform; I do that simply because I like the platform, like the deals that are being funded and find the returns to be nearly as good as the private lending I do, but without all the overhead. 

There will be private lenders.