My humble advice to anyone attempting to do creative finance is:Creative finance is for experienced investors who have access to capital if anything goes wrong.Learn the lawsDon't use a contract "off the internet", laws vary by state and are also regulated on a federal levelLearn the financing techniques correctlyDon’t skip parts of the processDon’t ever do a “kitchen table” closingUse the proper deedAn attorney can help you with the legal work, but the rest you are on your ownYour guru will not bail you out“Investing” in someone else’s deal by providing a small 2nd loan so the “investor” can pay for “cash to the seller” and for “closing costs” so he can do the deal is a very bad planKnow what problems can ariseLearn the responses and solutions to problems before they are neededKnow everything there is to know about Title and what that meansKnow who a "protected class" individual isLearn the "back doors"Learn human natureUnderstand timelinesUnderstand regulation enforcement (some of these "mistakes" have a 10 year statue of limitations ( they can charge you 10 years AFTER you do the transaction) and carry hefty fines and possible imprisonmentThe court doesn't accept "I didn't know" for an answer"Know that the source of the lead plays a serious role in some states and federallyKnow how much of a "profit" pushes the boundaries to invite an investigationYou can be sued by the seller if you don’t do things correctlyYou are automatically at fault if an investigator or attorney or regulator gets involved.

My suggestion to improve your cash flow is to find another bank/lender.

We've been continuously improving it, but it has been working exceptionally well for us since we hired a developer for the complete build-out a year ago.

I would echo this, it is a great REIA and the best place to find local, like-minded individuals and resources. 

If a cash out refinance, many lenders will allow the cash out to satisfy the reserves requirement.DSCR lenders generally let you vest either individually or as an LLC.

Like you, I’m diving into books and podcasts, but I also believe there’s immense value in learning alongside others and gaining hands-on experience.I’m in the process of connecting with like-minded individuals to create a community of new investors who are eager to learn, share knowledge, and even collaborate on deals.

I'll try to get in touch with everyone individually (though I'm not used to how the forums work yet).I'm also not sure how to make the at replies work, so that's a bit of a bummer.Anyway, as for location I'm in Kumamoto and investing mostly locally.

My strategy would then be to lease at least two of the renovated units, increasing occupancy to 90%, which could improve the chances of securing favorable terms for refinancing.I haven't pitched it to the seller yet.

Centralize your back office / use remote employees / VA where appropriate to cut costs and improve service levels / responsiveness.  5.

Also keep in mind that if the concern is lawsuits, they can still name you individually in a suit and it is just another battle.