This may be done in person, over the phone, or maybe a zoom.

It was definitely not personal.

Basically every personal house we ever owned except this last one which we built from scratch.

I saw someone post in a group who I think is a schmuck brag about hitting a specific figure for their training and I just shook my head - like wow - this person is a great sales person and just steals the same lines from the business book about working hard and throwing out some slick slogans - but man oh man - when real estate gets hard people move to being a guru - just look at FB ads right now - many are not funds anymore but how to raise money, how to do X.

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff: Quote from @Kevin Sobilo: Also, a contractor may not be the best person to develop your scope of work! 

This is too important and also sort of a personal question depending on your state and specific circumstance and I suspect not a one size fits all answer would suffice. 

What is the rate and term of the personal loan?

I invest personally as well as help other investors find off-market deals.

There are some lenders who specialize in lending for double closes and will basically send you the money for a couple days but I personally haven't done this and don't know what the charge.

MANY times investors do NOT have their mortgages reporting to their personal credit!