Most banks will want it seasoned a bit though, so hopefully your hard money loan doesn't have a balloon payment after 1 year. 

A little older than you, but still renting to people in their 40s. 

The owner thought he would be helpful and started to remodel one of the older units but he did it prior to the appraisal.  

I would also suggest that you look into Northwest REIA and Rarebard, both of which are attended by very seasoned and knowledgeable real estate investors.

@Luisito EspanolaIf you are self-employed with no employees, look into opening a solo 401k as it will allow you to reduce your taxable income by as much as $53,000 or $59,000 if you are age 50 or older.

It's great to hear from a successful CRE broker and a seasoned investor.

I think a MLO is a strategy more suited to a seasoned investor that is heavily capitalized, no?

I never liked the idea of working as a means to an end, but as I get older (31), I am realizing that I could help so many more people if I don't have to worry about paying back all my debt and spending all my time at work and being stressed.  

As tax season is approaching, I'm trying to find more ways to reduce my taxable income to get down to the more favored brackets.If I have passive income (rent) coming into an LLC, can I pay myself a management fee to count as income to invest into the solo 401k?

Once the property is seasoned, I would say he should be able to find conventional financing (might not be fully amortized 30 year financing), but should be able to.No construction is easy, but best route would probably be to get to permit and then get the loan.