My point is certain things are learned with experience and 1) acting as GC once does not provide an opportunity to leverage the experience 2) mistakes can be costly.good luckHi Dan,thank you.

Additionally, you could also check with your insurance provider to confirm there's no active risk and provide that documentation to the lender as reassurance.

I can see how starting with a 4-plex could provide better returns and learning opportunities without an overwhelming jump in complexity.

When you say they were incompetent can you provide more feedback for novice investors. 

Provide them proof of your ability to find, fix, flip (or whatever strategy you plan to use), and then start with small amounts of their money.

but they don't provide current rent, value, what they have capital wise, etc. 

But perhaps you would be better served helping a local experienced investor find deals and ask them to show you exactly how they analyze deals, what's good vs bad, how do they finance (debt vs equity) etc etc and understand their business model that has a proven track record by providing value to them.

If it is someone you know you can give them a straight return as if its a loan - can provide a lower interest rate to provide upside - it really depends on the lender and what are they concerned with and what is their risk profile. 

The more time you spend talking about other options and try to build up the negatives, the less time you are spending on what you fell are the positives of your own idea.If you believe that you are onto a great idea using L2P option contracts and forming partnerships where someone else provides 100% of the money while you provide 100% of the real estate-related functions, then start it up and make it work.  

If you want to do everything remotely, then I would recommend getting started with a TK provider that has all of their teams put together, but I would interview them in person.