However, rates are not great right now so taking out the money necessary makes the monthly payback greater than what we could get in rent.  

He doesn’t even need the money; he just wants to give back / pay forward. “ . 

If I could put down more money obviously that would decrease mortgage but I need some left over for closing etc

But Focal is making more money than my kmart headphones.I would like to go into real estate on a focal level.So the question is: which niche market has the highest returns in real estate?

I lend Hard Money, Fix n Flip, DSCR, and Bridge mainly on the investor side.

@Justin Fantazier2.9% is basically free money due to inflation.

People are poor—no way to make money. 

You would want to use your money more for a down payment on a good property. 

I am assuming you know it will lose money most likely?

I don't believe Dominion is the only hard money group to do this but that's how they get borrowers like yourself through the door.