I have talked to several borrowers recently that took out 5 yr PPP DSCR loans that could easily refi and save 200+ a month if they did not have the PPP.

This approach can help you secure funding more easily without the need for traditional income documentation.

Noone here can give you any legitimate response without knowing the answers to those three questions.If you paid 1.6 million and put down 25% and now owe 1.2 million and the duplex will be worth 2 million dollars when its complete, then you can easily get a hard money lender to lend you on the property. 

Those are traits that are often internal to someone - not something you can easily coach.Often what I hear is that you should start off by owning your own home... and let that be your first investment.  

With a FHA Loan I could easily afford a 300,000-350,000 property and start my REI journey.

This why I can so easily say NO, if it were '08' all over again NO, 99% of you would NOT be buying like you lament and promise if ya just had a chance.

I’m assuming most of you are going to say BP for deal analysis calculator, but curious what you are using to easily find comps for ARVs, etc. 

I would have to guess they easily spend six figures a year on marketing.

They are also two zip codes you can get burned on really easily if you don't know the neighborhoods and don't spend the time doing your due diligence.  

My best advice is to work with someone who has your best interests at heart and can easily plug you in with their network of trusted GCs, lenders, PMs.