Ideally, I would find a halfway decent deal on a multifamily so that I could house hack.

I am sorry I have no Agent recommendations for you but I have been reciving fro a brain annuerism and a stroke I had a little over 6 years ago and I still cannot walk.Because I am in bed most of the day I do m uch learning.  

But if I'm not, I'd hate for you to make the same mistake multiplied by TWENTY in one stroke of your pen!

It's true, I just stroked a check for $28K to re-renovate a house I already paid to renovate.

Once you start getting into some more transitional areas, your ideal 2% may be attainable. 

Ideally, we would need certain data points from you guys, like a zip code and what type of terms your borrower is looking for, etc. 

Since this would be our first property we'd ideally like to purchase a home that would only need cosmetic fixes, so that we can keep it fully occupied with tenants.

Money Partner agreement seems ideal or as previously mentioned above, do it yourself and get the experience and work with people you trust. - If you can't find private money, while it's not the best option, you can try HMLs where I've seen they cover 95% purchase price and 100% rehab costs.

Ideally I would want to stay away from any additional encumbrances tied up in the property in addition to mortgages.

How do I deal with the agent?