Factoring market conditions at the time of refinance, I negotiated a lower rate and conceded a lower term anticipating rates to normalize in the 4%-5% range by 2026.

Meanwhile, the sellers who are most likely to offer creative financing are normally the owners of  real estate that have issues.....condition.....low barrier/over supply market......or perhaps pricing issue, and one of these factors is why its not marketable in a arms length transaction and why creative financing would be accepted.

Most take near a year in southern Ca, but you hear of exceptions in both directions on that timeline.What some developers are doing here is leveraging the affordability issue and getting permission to build additional ADUs by designating some as affordable or semi affordable units.  

BiggerPockets is full of resources designed to help you along your journey, whether you are just getting started or a seasoned investor.

Look at factors like proximity to jobs, schools, transportation hubs, etc.

It also matters where the home is located, and what the weather, type of tenants it attracts/has been attracting, etc. other factors are.

Second, in terms of asset protection, LLCs are not invincible, but I think what many don’t understand is that they are not designed to completely shield your assets from liabilities, on the contrary they are designed to contain and isolate liabilities. 

Don't get me wrong:  cash flow is still an important factor, it keeps the lights on, it pays for repairs and upgrades.

I've included an example below to help illustrate this.So different lenders have different rates (which do vary even for DSCR loans) but these are factors they all consider.See example below:DSCR < 1Principal + Interest = $1,700Taxes = $350, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $50Total PITIA = $2200Rent = $2000DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2000/2200 = 0.91Since the DSCR is 0.91, we know the expenses are greater than the income of the property.DSCR >1Principal + Interest = $1,500Taxes = $250, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $25Total PITIA = $1875 Rent = $2300DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2300/1875 = 1.23If a purchase, you also generally need reserves / savings to show you have 3-6 month payments of PITIA (principal / interest (mortgage payment), property taxes and insurance and HOA (if applicable).

I've looked at every model of every new build of every company I can find and there's always problem with design, returns, etc.