Concepts I'm looking into are a friendly loan, and/or gift of equity, that still might allow for additional re-financing. 

That's the easiest, least expensive way to get started and investing in that way in your local market will have a much greater impact on your financial future than buying a cheap house in the midwest- those "cheap" houses tend to be very expensive. 

They have the gift of time especially someone in their 20s.

Instead of gutting a kitchen and making it all new, I would rather look for the easiest way to work with what I have.

Hi Matt,Good advice by Drago and I would add the easiest no qualifying option would be to do a cashout refi on a DSCR program.

You can search for gift on this forum and   that will give clues

Hey Henry, I agree I think house hacking is definitely one of the easiest and most efficient ways to get into investing!

You need to find a regular local lender who can tell you what you will need which will be 20-30 percent depending on the rate you are after.But, the easiest way for flippers to become owners is to hold every 4th property you flip and rent it at high rent since it's a full renovation.

The easiest way is to estimate the bill, and include it as part of the rent. ($800 rent +$50/mo utilities).

As others have pointed out the technology that exists in the space makes communication quite frankly one of the easiest parts of the business at this time and tenants as well as clients have grown accustomed to having quick and efficient communication options at their disposal.