You are seeking guidance before jumping in and trying to take hold of your life which is very commendable. as @Joe Villeneuve mentioned, you could seek a partner, a relative or friend, but i agree with him on trying to find one at a local REI meeting, having friends and family may just ruin that relationship if something goes bad. you do not HAVE to form an LLC. you can purchase investment properties without one, i personally have each property under an llc. what you can do when you go to a lender, once you know your finances, is find a small local bank that deals with investors, go in there with confidence and numbers. what i mean by that is have a net worth calculation on a sheet of paper ready for them, last 2 months bank statements, last 2 years tax returns, numbers on the property you want to purchase ( what you predict will be the NOI for the property), last 2 weeks of any W2's you may have. you go in there with confidence, put down all those papers with numbers and how you feel you and they would benefit from the purchase, that will impress them.

Specialty services like children's cancer to something like that?

If I were 25 years old, defaulting could be a solution, albeit a last resort after exhausting all other options, but where I am now, defaulting like that would ruin the rest of my life, so I would avoid it at all cost.

HOAs are out of control and in one case because dues got to be $500+ due to poor management the whole development is in ruins.

I need to protect the investment for my sons as I am out of work with Stage IV breast cancer, with the new treatments out there I could be around for quite a while.

I have seen family members fight over loans, I sincerely hope it will not ruin your relationship.

I don't lend money to friends or family or get involved in any business dealings with them, I don't want the relationship to get ruined.

Now the people are out of the money, don't have a place to stay and the vacation is ruined.

Further, non-performance in that space can ruin your chances for future deals with that REO broker. 

When dealing with multi family housing one bad tenant can ruin the experience for all the residents.