I live in a very rural area in the northeast and most of the markets within an hour of me are primarily class C and D neighborhoods with reputations for drug and crime problems (as well as my own hometown unfortunately) so I will probably look to long-distance investing as I get started.

I really like multifamily home purchases, but I would like to eventually try at short term rentals.

Hi, I've been a part of Bigger Pockets for a very long time and an experienced investor.

Now, this doesn't do anything to change primary residence requirements for short-term rentals. 

Hi Gerald,As you may have encountered, options for short term bridge for less than 100k is limited.

Long store short, I have a duplex on a 45 acre farm in rural Virginia.

I would recommend finding the top lenders in the area where you're buying and gaining a good understanding of their terms.

Hi Phil,I know that with rehab loans you can typically get past the 50k purchase price as long as it's fairly close, the total loan size exceeds 50k, and the ARV gets to 100k.

TICs have fallen out of favor but as long as they are structured property and are run by a good operator (see point earlier) they can be a good alternative.

@Adaze Foltz  Benefits:Direct to the source; more control over the receipt of the funds (initial and any rehab draws); able to not just establish a relationship, but also perhaps gain referrals of other private lending sources (those that are happy with the returns and payoffs - talk (boast) to their friends); faster to the table; can negotiate the terms (rate, when payments are made, other fees and when they are paid, etc.); usually nothing reported to credit bureaus.Risks:Using up the private sources money (tapping them out); The private lender didn't receive their payoffs on other loans as anticipated so they are short of funding your deal(s).