Work on raising revenue so that you can pay yourself more.

This provided a substantial return on the initial investment and freed up capital for future projects.Financial Highlights•Acquisition Price: $72,000•Renovation Costs: $35,600•Total Investment: $107,600•Funds: raised from personal savings and private lender•Appraised Value: $160,700•Monthly Rent: $2,150•Cash-Out Refinance: $3,200 after paying off private lender and myself•Rate and Term Refinance: 30 yr amortization, 7.25% interest, 70% LTV•DSCR: 1.45%Here's the breakdown of rental income and expense analysis:1.Annual Gross Income: $25,800 (Monthly rent of $2,150 x 12)2.Annual Expenses: $25,800 * 0.40 = $10,3203.Annual NOI: $25,800 - $10,320 = $15,4804.Annual Debt Service: $10,680 (Calculated previously using a mortgage calculator with a loan of $131,775, 7.25% interest, and a 30-year term)5.DSCR: $15,480 / $10,680 = 1.45 (approximately)With a 40% expense ratio, the DSCR is approximately 1.45.

We started raising the rents on the 3 and 4 BR units until the rate of leasing slowed to a normal pace.Fast forward two years and we found ourselves with higher vacancy on those same units. 

MF with many garages to convert to ADUs, parcel splits, full on development, coop/tic with the resources to handle financing challenges, etc.To raise money in this market as a newby will also be challenging unless you can get it from friends and family.

Over time, you’ll also have the option to raise rent to further improve cash flow.House hacking is an incredible way to learn, build equity, and set yourself up for future opportunities, it's how I started as well and it was the best decision I've made! 

The cities laws make landlord very difficult for raising rents and evicting tenants. 

I could pony up $25k for the terminal, raise money, educate myself, and make a ton of money investing.

Outside of raising money from others or seller financing, I am looking to see if there are private or other lending options that could cover 10-20% of a downpayment on these loans with a shorter loan term of say 5 years.

And in part, it depends on the investors and capital that you have access to (this tends to play a factor in many decisions when raising outside capital).If you do want to go the fund route, you might want to consider using Avestor. 

•If you can, raise rents or find ways to increase the property’s income before applying again.Have you already tried talking to multiple banks, or is this feedback from just one?