My business partner will be the property management for the time he is located in the area, roughly 6-12 months, from there we need to secure a property manager, grounds keeper; we need to draw up contracts and run it by lawyers in the area; and we need to specifically decide on payment methods.

Would like to explore more about the Tokyo commercial RE market.

I'd love to ultimately be able to do the BRRRR method, but my biggest hurdle will be getting loans without being a W-2 employee. 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/work-with-lenders-brrrr-method/The last time I was in Vegas, we met for breakfast and he walked me through this.

To determine what numbers and percentages to use for your projections, here are some useful methods that I've used: go look at properties for sale, network with local investors, and manage a property yourself. 

He may also be searching through his banks and investors for the best method to fund the deal.  

My goal is to have efficient, teachable methods, rent collection, listings, etc, so that when I am ready to hire an employee/employees, they can be trained to run necessary aspects of my business without skipping a beat.Any and all advice is welcome, and I thank you in advance!

One consideration I've had (but have not yet begun to explore the feasibility of) would be owning a duplex and renting out the other half to begin my investing journey and stop paying rent into zero equity; but much more information would be needed to understand if this is possible in my financial state. 

I've had contractors refuse to work if cash/check wasn't the method of payment. 

I’m surprised to see *crickets* on this one, as there are many outspoken proponents of both methods: leaving all cash in will increase your cash flow but has “sunk” equity with a slow velocity and return, while leverage will give you a better return on investment.