2) They get busy dealing with all the mundane day-to-day stresses and business responsibilities at which time quality, responsiveness and service may, or may not, suffer.3) Sometimes... 

Why would you do anything that effectively pays you less than that?

Completely agree with you on this; I'm not making any claims to the quality of these lenders here.

Are cold calling or broker relationships more effective?

It takes dedicated resources to build out and to do effectively at scale.

What matters more is whether the borrower in question has the (i) time, (ii) contacts, (iii) experience, and (iv) ability to effectively communicate & package their loan request to banks & credit unions in a way that is compelling to those lenders. 

Louisville is fantastic for cash flow and is a safe place to start since we don't typically get caught up in the roller coaster effect of steep appreciation followed by sudden pull backs when the market isn't red hot.  

With those, the HOA fee's usually have a big negative effect on cash flow. 

The profit was used to buy a higher quality SFH in the same area.

@Ming HuangRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?