@Kristi TietzI'd be very careful using this tactic to get started, especially if you plan to use borrowed money to lend out such as HELOC or credit cards.

Any tips or advice for a newbie would be greatly appreciated!

Have you looked into cost segregation studies, bonus depreciation, 179D, historical tax credits, etc.?

I have used some of his tips, but I have not used his paid services so I can't personally recommend him, but his advice so far seems practical. 

Any tips on what she should be asking a prospective agent?

You can use DSCR programs that only looks at your credit and the property itself.Either way, it will be important to have a high enough credit and down payment to qualify.

In theory we could buy a house with him and rent it for ten years and break even, pay the debt down, build credit, and later maybe he lives there.

I usually suggest new property owners setup a business before they even close on a property and then use a business credit card for all expenses moving forward and also for them to link it to Quickbooks so everything is automatically tracked for them.There are a lot of nuances and strategies but this is a 30,000 foot view of why you should opt for business>personal

If you are using a local credit union or balance sheet lender they have additional qualification standards but I see you are in Oxnard.

Lets say the investor didn't use credit or anything related to credit metrics to buy the property (maybe own cash, OPM or HL, by the time the "refinance" part kicks is, what happens if the owner has credit issues and the financial institution won't proceed?