First, don't use REI Reply, it's just a white-labelled/private-agency version of GoHighLevel (the actual provider of the CRM) that they just mark up and charge you extra for everything you do (every text, email, etc is 2-10x more expensive than just linking twilio/mailgun to your GHL account, etc).With that out of the way, you can get to making workflows.

A lot of private lenders will use their white label program to appear as a direct lender, however it is just another loan broker.

Our best use for the property would be to build a couple of large estate home (8k sq' and up) and form a private estate, but, being that we are in the County with no existing zoning requirements, we could also build what we want and potentially turn it into an income generating property.

But you’d have to target the <5% that are privately managed by newbies.

I used a combination of leveraging my business line of credit, HELOC and partnerships for my first couple deals before adding in private lenders. 

Wholesaling, investing in REITs, private lending, and micro-investing platforms can diversify properties.

Here are some common pitfalls I see for new investors from the private lending perspective:• Insufficient Funds: most lenders are going to be able to lend a first-time investor somewhere around 75-80% of the purchase price of an existing property + 100% of your estimated rehab budget (or an 80/100 loan, for short).

However cash is a hard no for me because I feel having it around and transporting it provides a security risk for me.

According to [2], private homes cannot be rented for less than a week.

Also start networking to start buildign your team of find contractors, handymen, private lenders, real estate attorneys, title companies, architects,wholesalers....