Direct lenders are great for portfolio style loans, investors that do significant transactions and have a banking relationship. 

It sounds like you’ve set a strong foundation for your real estate investing journey, especially with the time you’ve spent educating yourself.

It made Stessa's service look strong, which we both know it is not. 

Consider financing options like hard money loans, or FHA loans for house hacking, and focus on areas with strong rental demand near the MA/NH border.

You and the other posters here have been generous in indulging me in this exercise of considering this "partnership" / BRRRR, but demonstrating that we can invest successfully on our own power before seeking out partners is not only my strong preference but just sound business logic.As a new investor my head starts to spin when I start to think about investing, and the many gaps in my knowledge reveal themselves: how to structure a partnership? 

I focus on finding deals that meet specific criteria, and I always keep my underwriting conservative to make sure the numbers work even on a worst case scenario.Right now, my big goal is to land my first property, ideally 20+ units in Florida, and build a strong portfolio from there.

Only the first can be corrected, but us making a mistake and getting anything less than 5 star review is stricly unacceptable in my eyes and my team also has a strong sense of ownership in their position and loyalty to my company.   

I'd recommend interviewing multiple PM's and seeing which one fits your style and expectations.

Which I also would tell you that if you have trouble managing finances and poor credit I strongly advise against real estate as its capital intensive and if you struggle now managing money having more money and real estate only exacerbates that issue.

If the area can support new construction, determine the best style, size, and type of new build for that area.3.