Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

But to your point, a current project I’m about to start, I can tell you I had to push back on ARR as the comps used by lenders were entirely outside of what I’m bringing to market.

If you are skilled in each of the areas above, and you have enough in reserves to cover the costs of when things do not go as planned, then you can likely attract money from private money lenders who want to get a return on their money and they see lending to you as a low risk way of earning a better return than in the other passive investing options they have. 

So is it a matter or reaching out to lenders saying I'm willing and able to act as a broker and ask for their terms/rules?

At the end of the day, trust comes from doing your due diligence—whether it’s with partners, lenders, or even the deals themselves. 

Find a private lender who would give you that debt for a lower amount.

You would need to let them know you are 2nd lender and want to pay the loan off.

What would be my best approach, I assume find a private lender and work out some deal with them.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

And they'll want you to pay off the loan pretty soon (and usually will you as the rate will probably be higher than banks) so there's that too.For this reason, we definitely prefer private lenders as they will (if you've built trust with them) often lend on the rehab too.