Establish an emergency fund and target stable long-term rentals or short-term rentals in markets you understand.House hacking or private lending can offer alternative entry points depending on your risk tolerance and hands-on involvement.

Also, if this is something that you are looking for in a hard money lender, you might want to look into more of a private money lending model verse anything else. 

Our community is actively identifying and investing in off-market deals, sharing the cost of virtual assistants and direct mail, sponsoring deals, investing our own capital, and having multiple group calls and webinars every week with institutional analysts, real estate and SEC attorneys, regional banks, private lenders, and other experts specifically to discuss and analyze deals within the community.

The client can distribute proceeds through a private agreement without involving the title.

You could get a loan from a local bank or private lender to fund it

Your question has been debated between BP tax experts both privately and publicly, for example here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/819991-expens...And we ended up where we started: no consensus and no clarity.There have also been court decisions that support my interpretation, even though I personally find these court decisions debatable.

First, let's be very clear here.The mortgage your speaking of is a private agreement between the seller and the lender.

It’s important to ensure you’re comfortable with these risks and consult a financial advisor.If you choose to use a HELOC, consider traditional financing or private loans as alternatives if you prefer not to risk your home.As for your first rental, markets in the Midwest and Southeast offer great opportunities with turnkey properties that are tenant-ready and appreciating.

Class C/D neighborhoods with both Section 8 and private payer tenants.

The two most common exemptions are the exemption for intrastate offerings and the exemption for private placements.