I have $25K cash for a down payment and can add $20K/year ($1,600/month) toward payments.No W2s, I've looked into building a small home right away and using a bank statements loan (have about 8800. monthly income) , but with 9%+ interest rates, it’s beyond my budget.Is there any sort of creative financing ideas possible or private lender possibilities?

We invest in non performing loans and do some private lending as well.

I have a potential private lender, but I need to determine if this is a viable investment opportunity and explore the best financing optionsYou’re a first time investor going for 36 units… alone?

I've only read about it, but never really investigated it since I don't see it possible for me.What about private lending? 

Quote from @Rodney Davis: They presented themselves as private lenders.

The content is not proprietary - it's freely available on the web, but the presentation is my private property (my research, copyrighted IP). 

. #2 many private/hard money lenders will consider furnishings if the deal, including the furnishings, falls into their deal box.Believe it or not, it might be easier to include the furnishings in the deal with a significantly lower down payment if there is other rehab work to be done.

We are considering becoming a private lender with them and I am doing some background research on him and his companies and wondering if anyone has done any deals with them.

Quote from @Benjamin Finney: I'm curious what real estate investors and private money lenders like myself use to inform their businesses strategy and predict future market conditions.

I use a private lender to borrow money to buy properties.