Security deposits have to be held in an escrow account disclosed to the real estate commission which requires a yearly report and all leases need to disclose your license information.

To combat this: market the property well, be transparent, secure a great flood insurance rate so a buyer can know the cost and be able to transfer the policy.5) no flood zone AE does nothing to rental rates6) if the insurance rate seems high then get a flood cert and maybe it will decrease.

Could any of you guide me on what I should do initially to secure financing?

So, your focus may need to pivot from high rental cash flow to little to no cash flow as a rental with an appreciation upside.I would recommend taking your $150K to $200K and securing a solid equity position in something that will cover its expenses and maybe provide a small cash flow, but then is poised to appreciate nicely over the course of the next several years. 

They’re asset-based, meaning the loan is secured by the property itself, and they often have quicker approval times but higher interest rates (think 10–15%) and fees.

For any of these real estate funds that have guaranteed rates of returns for set periods I would want to understand how my investment is secured.

What I love about them is they will even accept the higher lease amounts over the market rents if we can show first month's rent and security deposit.

I position my inspections as 'planning for future repairs/improvements' which mitigates that whole 'he's here to get my security deposit' mindset.And, I would rather have the tenant with me than to have him later claim that something was broken during the inspection.  

Security investigated to find the renters still at our house.

When I started, I  submitted great deals to a corporate cash buyer,  they went behind my back and secure the deals with the sellers, after the  contracts expired.