We use private lending to finance the purchase and construction of this home.

Now we are mostly scaling our business with larger communities but I've used many different creative finance strategies including seller finance, private lending, hard-money, collateral from other properties, and lease-options. 

Like @Chris Seveney said, private lending is a great way to go as well.  

Looking for help and suggestions- I want to say I have learned my lesson and now know to use a third party to hold funds.This is my first time working with a private lender/family member.

He has since refinanced and cashed me and my private lender out.

Since then, many people have shared their opinions and insights, both privately and publicly.

NMLS does not regulate private lenders.

Tenants also prefer private landlords.  

One option to reach (or exceed) your goal of passive $10,000/month income is investing in real estate as a private money lender.

If this is not something you're interested in delving into and learning to a high degree, then investing in publicly traded REITs would be another good option for you, which have historically returned about 13.5 per cent Per year over the past 50 years (1977-present), beating the US stock market by two per cent and even beating private real estate investing by 4 per cent (that's compared with the average real estate investor, not the experts here at Bigger Pockets).