You have far more options than a larger investor.  

If you're purchasing a new primary you can tap an FHA loan for 1-4 units with 3.5% down, if you can secure a seller concession it could limit the amount of equity needed..if not a new multi family primary you'll need a larger downpayment (15-25%) depending on the property type and occupancy.

You have a choice when doing an arbitrage to be responsible for little to nothing when it comes to maintenance and repairs or budget for maintenance and repairs as if it's your property (keeping your tenants satisfied). 

After many attempts to explain this to Shellpoint they finally have readjusted the escrow payment to an even larger than initial amount.  

Our offer was accepted yesterday, and our five day due diligence is supposed to start tomorrow.From what I have thoroughly studied on the comps, they do sell within a decent time frame and for much higher than the purchase price, although the majority of comps are slightly larger in sqft.

Las Terrenas in the Samana peninsula is a good choice but I have a small thing for Bayahibe, close to la Romana.You can find property that are half the price of Punta Cana's and that you can rent around 80% of the year.

If you’re okay with not making much monthly profit and focusing on long-term gains, brick could be a solid choice.

I wasn't sure if I could have more than 4 - that's good to know that I can (I promise, I'm not that much of a newbie :-).And I hear you on partnering with larger investors.

Better yet, if no other easy choice, force your lender to the negotiating table.  

For larger projects, in the many dozens of units/lots range, the builders use financial models to determine land value.