To me, you'll get a similar (if not slightly better) rate than hard money and you'll also avoid paying points for the hard money.

After years of research and deliberation, my wife and I determined to start our real estate portfolio in 2025.

@Kristin MathernI would pay it given no keys were provided, it wasn’t specifically addressed/mentioned in your lease, you were provided the opportunity to address/fix yourself with a 25-30 dollar replacement from Lowe’s/Home Depot, and lastly, it was an existing situation that could have been avoided/prevented at move in.

I would love to talk with a lender to get a better handle on the products that help investors BUT in my strategy, I am leaning toward NOT using hard money at first(if I can avoid it).

Umbrella insurance provides substantial liability protection at a lower cost and avoids the administrative complexities of managing an LLC.

@Polat Caglayan we can answer all your questions, yet you avoid setting an appointment with us.Very interesting approach you choose...

If you are familiar with the area, which areas do you prefer and which areas should be avoided?

You may also avoid the seasoning requirement on a rate and term refinance. 

Avoid anybody who was a Pace Morby student

However, it may be prudent to wait until you acquire property in that state to create the LLCs to avoid paying all the necessary filing fees when you have nothing going on yet.