SBA has a tendency to say guaranteed and then try to get out of it. 

We were ready to start doing normal house deals and the game plan we came up with (with the help of a friend/mentor) is basically the game plan Lifestyles Unlimited teaches you.Free podcast here: http://www.lifestylesunlimited.com/category/radio_...So you won't know how to do all the fancy stuff and breath of stuff you will know how to do if you do invest in something like Legacy Education, but I think this program will get you to have skin in the game in a really do-able fashion.

If you look at most of their costs - it can be done "the old fashion" way without much of the hassle and costs and aggravation.

The retirement funds can be used without taxes or penalties in this fashion, but the C-Corp will operate in the normal taxable realm.To invest in someone else's business, you could use a self-directed IRA. 

Also when someone shows up to see your place and see 3 other groups of people there that also want to see the same place you start to create a lil old fashioned term called “supply and demand” or Atleast the perception of it.

Original old hardwood from the 50s and older, if it hasn't been sanded multiple times, will be harder and more durable than almost anything else you can do because of the older growth wood and the tendency of wood to petrify as it ages.

I'm also trying to find  some  wholesale deals to raise  capital the old fashioned way, but  so far I haven't  had any luck yet.    

I should add that my tendency is to lean more towards a conservative approach to start and get more ambitious once I am established. 

@Andrew Savikas  I definitely agree with you about the experience piece and I was very tempted to just do it and see what happens because I have a tendency to over analyze! 

I personally have lived in Colorado Springs most of my life and at this point in time have worked in almost every part of town in one fashion or another.