First, most investors and owners of real estate related businesses are in one or more of the following situations1- they’re unable to duplicate their expertise that drives the ROI and they are at their personal max capacity as to time2- they’re obtaining high ROI by use of excessive leverage 3 - they’re obtaining high ROI by taking excessive risk4- they hit correct timing in the correct market, and this is not necessarily repeatable with any probabilityIn order for an investment or business to scale, we need the ROI (on a risk adjusted basis) to be sufficient to cover a PREMIUM risk adjusted return to passive investors; all expenses of managing the assets and the business, and a significant return to the “sponsor” providing compensation to him making the work, risk and time worth while. 

But if your goal is to leave your day job soon, multi family will offer more cash flow typically.

I wouldn't think it would take a private lender (which is much higher priced) than a typical mortgage broker's rates.Is there a reason you think you need a private lender?  

Typically when people graduate they look for a job and move to the area of the job.

Since rental losses are typically passive, the best way to offset W-2 income is through Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) (750+ hours) or Short-Term Rentals (STRs) (100+ hours and more time than anyone else managing the property), which allow real estate losses, including depreciation, to offset active income.A cost segregation study accelerates depreciation, generating large upfront deductions.

Legal Protection – It's important to have a solid contract in place, typically a promissory note and a security agreement that outlines the loan terms, interest rates, repayment schedules, and collateral (often the property being financed).

Quote from @Devin James: In one of our development projects, the City staff asked us to remove 40 units from our concept plan.This wasn’t requested by the City Commission at a formal hearing, it was the opinion of the staff.Our original concept already proposed fewer units than the current zoning would have allowed.Here’s what erasing 40 units means:- 40 fewer homes for buyers- Over $1M in lost profit for our team- Fewer tax dollars and impact fees that could’ve benefited the City’s infrastructure & servicesWe gotta get betterEveryone wants more affordable housing, but not everyone wants to do what it takes to achieve it we never listen to the recommending bodies. we move for city approvals and work closely. the other thing we do is keep going back to the same groups over and over and over and over every month on the same agenda and make very small reductions like 2% or 4% and that reduces and beats them down eventually they accept what you want. it's just before beating a dead horse. we keep tabling until they give us something we all agree on then we go to vote. in our city in columbus we have to get recommendations but that's our strategy. we used to come out as aggressive as possible. we typically study developments in the area and keep it very similar in terms of density. we have a track record of very controversial projects and litigation and not taking no as an answer. after a year of that haha I can tell you it's not worth it. now we are more relationship based and buying the right kinds of plots of land. if the numbers don't work on the front end don't do the development. 

From what I have seen, the typical remedy is termination of the contract, refund of the EM deposit and all expenses incurred by the buyer during the failed transaction.

If not, I have a lot of local knowledge and the typical trends of many of the Atlanta suburbs.

That being said, your typical cost of capital is as follows:EquityAgency debtBalance Sheet local lenderDebt FundPrivate DebtPref EquityHard Money DebtBookie/Loan SharkOther things that will impact capital sources: are you wanting to finance the improvements, or will you pay for those from equity/cash flow?