I also dress conservatively to stay more relatable and so I can jump into a crawl space to inspect a leak at any moment. 

I would agree, purchasing the first property is the first step.No need to get too fancy with the complex approaches.

Nothing fancy, but good looking.

I want a ready to rent property, but it does not have to be all that fancy. 

lots of fancy people sell their almost new West Elm, Room & Board, Ikea etc furniture for a steal on craigslist. sometimes they're just giving it away. we get 75% of our stuff on craigslist and estate auctions, you'll save so much if you have time to search.

So we are not trying dress up alterior motives here. 

I'd venture to guess that there are some fancy or creative ways to wrap this up, but what I want to propose is a tried-and-true construction loan. 

It's not fancy but it works. 

No fancy "accent" walls. 

If tenants think I'm "rich" because I drive a "fancy BMW" (Its not really that nice, its a 2006 325i with 120,000 miles on it), I think that'll work to my disadvantage.