For example if this is your first flip they likely wouldn't be lending for a heavy rehab project, conversion project, or ground up construction projects.

Is this a building you see yourself owning for an extended period of time and/or if you were to sell the building will there be a satisfactory return on the heavy lift capex  investment that's necessary?

They schedule with the tenant, drive there, document everything, they have hardware expenses, insurance, vehicle, etc. 

this is a toughie. hard money specifically is equity-driven, meaning they'll likely want 40%+ down to even entertain the deal. additionally, land without improvements is often very inexpensive (relative to land with improvements), usually pushing below a threshold which makes sense for a hard money lender. if you're not intending to build right away, then i think you'll have the best luck with private money instead of hard money. usually higher leverages than hard money, and more negotiable terms.if you are intending to build on it pretty right away, a ground-up construction loan could work, but those will typically require some ground-up construction experience (on title on other ground-up deals), or an extensive portfolio of heavy rehabs/ rentals/ strong liquidity. those will give you acquisition monies (to buy the land) and build monies (to build the improvements).

They could not even find the root cause of the leaks we had the last few months (when there was heavy rain). 

One thing I discovered recently is they make heavy use of the Schedule E from your tax return, so if you clean up your Schedule E (eg by minimizing repairs and maximizing CapEx and accelerated depreciation), you should be in much better shape.  

I've found success in passive investing as a means to learn the industry since my money is put to work but more experienced sponsors are doing the heavy lifting and I can learn from everything they're doing.

Could also be a great opportunity for those looking to diversify or invest internationally.Does anyone else have experience with this investment vehicle or others like it?

Here’s a bit about my current situation and goals:Current Rentals:Number of Properties: 1Type of Property: Single-family home (we lived in it and turned it into a rental when we moved out)Location: Corpus Christi, TXInvestment Goals:Short-term Goal: Acquire more properties and build an equity-heavy portfolio to have leverage if needed.Long-term Goal: Build a portfolio that provides enough cash flow to cover all living expenses.Focus: Expand my portfolio, preferably to at least 10 properties in the next 10 years.Financials:Current Monthly Cash Flow: Close to breakeven (potentially negative by $20, factoring in reserves).Future Investment Budget: No savings at the moment.

The cost of changing a light bulb is quite a bit more when you factor in travel time to get across town, vehicle cost, a qualified person on payroll with benefits, overhead cost for the office to deploy that person.