I understand this is a good way to become financially secure over time and am eager to start.  

IN these cases they took title sub to from the sellers .. ( but in the case your describing its the same thing you have a senior note as most investors will want security) they then sold on contract to buyers with small down payments and credit challenged or income challenged and they did about 30 of these in a year or so.. worked hard at it..

I believed I was putting that hard-earned money into something secure.

It’s all about securing the right agreements and understanding the rules. 

This deal, i used my first successful buy and hold property and pulled a HELOC to secure financing and reserves.

There are risky, but high return options like QQQ which grew 27% over the last year or on the other side / safe end, there are super secure short term US government bonds like SGOV which pays out about 4.5% in dividends. 

Renter's Insurance is a cheap date for the tenant; it protects their security deposit and assets. 

If a single-family owner-occupied property is worth $400,000 - I wouldn't invest more than $280,000 (70%) in a note secured by the property.ITV takes priority over desired yield - so even if the note discounts to $350,000 based on desired yield, the investor still won't go beyond their maximum ITV. 

I personally will not expand into a market without securing a reliable team first.Service Quality Over Price – While 10-15% may seem attractive, be cautious—cheaper often means less attention to detail.

We buy at a discount and pledge our legal right to collect the debt (a collateral assignment agreement) as the collateral for the private capital loan we take out, which is backed by the value of the real estate securing the 1st loan.