We personally didn't want to do joint ventures so we discovered the power of creative financing.

You can look to network with these types of lenders on BP as well. a good article explaining the function and utilities of each is: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/hard-money-private-money-difference>Search for foreclosures on the BP site under the "find deals" tab.

i saw a poll on redfin, which might help. https://www.redfin.com/blog/co...

The positive that can come from businesses that survive is they discover other parts of their business for growth that they likely did not know existed or gave much attention to.

I tried again, thinking I did something wrong, but discovered they were deleted.

Someone also suggested my book above, and of course I'm biased, but I think that's a good one:) https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2015-11-13-7-real-estate-books-beginner-investors

After calling through several pages I've discovered that most places don't offer that/have no idea what I'm talking about.

As I was doing more research I discovered that this triplex was right next door and was for sale by the same owner! 

Here're a few articles to give you additional guidance:https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/10850/86626-the-pros-and-cons-of-investing-via-real-estate-syndicationhttps://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/10850/87614-interpreting-the-private-placement-memorandum-ppmhttps://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/10850/84894-where-can-i-find-investors

I recommend the Discover IT secured card.