You have to have confidence and the Sponsor needs to build a relationship with you if he wants to be sure you have some insights into the risks of the types of deals you would be funding. 

I have a pretty large emergency fund in place for those properties, but I wonder if that capital could be better employed elsewhere (potentially acquire another property).  

You just need the right funding to make it happen.

Fine-tuning your savings, building a reserve fund, and running detailed ROI projections will help solidify your plan for long-term success.Good luck!

You'll want to look at their reviews, how they safeguard your funds, understand what their fees are, and how responsive they will be to your questions (do they work 9-5 only). 

Yes you can use commission as sourced funds for down payment on a conventional loan.However some lenders have internal overlays that don't allow it.

The process takes about the same amount of time since an appraisal and title work is generally still required before underwriting and funding the deal. 

We're fortunate to have an above-average income and live well below our means.This summer, we’ll be moving to Detroit (PCSing in August), and we’ve saved about $120,000 to invest in addition to having funds set aside for the home we’ll purchase in Detroit.The reason I’m posting is that I’m struggling to decide how to best allocate the $120k.

A 1031 must be for equal or greater value or the funds in excess of the value of the new purchase are taxable.

Very unfortunate as continue to see people who are providing others with money and not understanding until its too late that their money was never secured and was gone the moment they wired those funds