To minimize upfront costs, explore down payment assistance programs, creative financing strategies like seller financing, or rent-to-own agreements. 

Hi Treza,Not sure where you are in the process there, but when your ready to exercise financing options please reach out, it's very difficult to find a ground up program for inexperienced borrowers without having an experienced GC sign on the loan with you which in turn is not easy to find. 

However I am struggling to understand and evaluate the risks involved with cash out refinancing 2-5 years down the line.

Hey Alex, There are foreign national DSCR loan programs available for your scenario: Below are the list of requirements I have found most lenders have : 1.

It's essential for me to acquire these skills as I navigate potential roles in the real estate industry.If you have any insights, recommendations, or perhaps know of specific training programs or resources for learning Yardi, I would greatly appreciate your guidance.

Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.

I am not sure what type of real estate investing you're considering, but it sounds like, with your family and busy job, you won't have a lot of time to be hands-on or personally involved. 

I will not name every program out there because this would be a very large reply post.

I joined the program to build something together.

Most people I know start with low money down programs so they can get away with a initial capital investment of around $25k but you also need reserves.