Hi,I have a small 2/1 in Seminole Heights that I am looking to rehab to make ideal for a first time home buyer.

To scale up to achieve my goals I thought aligning with a RE fund would be ideal. 

Right now it is ranging from 490-550, and I understand that these are not ideal numbers to present when attempting to finance a mortgage.

Ideally I would like to pick off 1-3 single family properties (preferably not condos) in the next 12-18 months that will generate long term rental income.

Ideally your local bank will have the have the capacity to grow with you as you expand your portfolio.

Ideally a duplex or single family ADU so I can start cutting my costs to save money faster for the second house.I'd love to hear from experienced investors looking back on their first property.

Not the ideal way to do business with a private lender, but we had a blanket agreement in writing that he was lending us money at set rate period for the time we held the property.Some option for funding when buying at a foreclosure auction:1) Your own cash is fast.2) Set up a line of credit with a bank using other collateral, maybe you own a couple of rental houses with equity that you could use as collateral. 

@Bosko Mijatovic This is probably not the ideal strategy, permits in CA are a nightmare and if you don't do it right or try to do it cheap you will just destroy the value of your property. 

Open living spaces and custom kitchen with designer finishes, make this the ideal charmer!

It sounds like he got burned on his first SFH and that made him stay away from them.My real estate agent suggested a refinance as well, which sounds like an ideal option.