But if I'm using private money to fund it as a "cash deal" then I wouldn't pay as much as I would if I were going to closing with traditional mortgage funds, right?

Your problem is that you may have trouble securing traditional financing because of your debt.

I took the class, passed the exam, got my license, and dove in head first into traditional Real Estate for about 6 months and didn't close a single deal.

If anyone has tips on how to start, where to find deals, and/or whether I should go with a 20% down traditional loan or a 3.5% FHA loan please reach out!

However, if you don't have "earned income" (as opposed to capital gains) then you cannot contribute to a Traditional IRA or HSA and deduct it from your taxable income.

Hypothetically, If a traditional lender charged say around 4000 fees/closing cost etc and 5.5% rate along with a mandatory 25% down payment  ; Are there individuals who can lend to the same person at better terms beating out the traditional lender?

The traditional mortgage broker we are using wanted to use my personal banking and debt-income and needs the down payment to come from me.

If this were a traditional loan, the lender who would be getting the interest payments, would not be you.

It’s all about finding those people and it probably requires looking in non traditional areas.

To further clarify, this isn’t a line of credit in traditional sense.