That said, there is a difference between pests like ants/roaches and a squirrel getting into the attic. 

We found piles of feces from a variety of animals, more mold than a cheese factory,  some insanely disgusting mattresses, and 1 very long-dead squirrel. 

My question for everyone is, Do we just sit and squirrel away money to hopefully build up enough capital to put the typical 10-20% down for loan while simultaneously fixing up my current property to prep it for being a STR, LTR or for sale eventually down the road OR is there someone out there that has way more creative thinking than we do to start our real estate investing journey with little to no money down (yes we have tried to reach out to friends and family to see if they would partner on possible deals).Thank you in advance for any input!

Put those two pieces in place and even a blind squirrel will end up with a pile of acorns.

Hey all, I have a triplex and one of my tenants has a squirrel's nest above her unit.

Given all the risk you need a large margin to make up for unplanned rehab costs and I doubt you will get that in the current market.

Since we started, we’ve had no un-planned vacancies and have had the pleasure of seeing benefits like, higher rent, double screened tenants, as well as an allowable mix of turnover that falls somewhere in between long term stays and short term stays.We’ve even started to utilize Airbnb as the seasonality of the short term market changes.

That said, as a landlord, there have been a number of times when I wish I held a security deposit because my tenants moved out and left a mess in the apartment and I had no way easy way to go after them (ex. dirty fridge full of expired food = 2 unplanned hours of my own time to clean out).

And even with a good crew it seems there are always delays and unforeseen (but hopefully not unplanned for) expenses.

like squirrels, they can sit on an eyebrow area and just continue to scratch at a spot until they make a hole.