Private lenders or even creating a small syndicate with a group of investors might also be worth exploring, especially since you can point to your uncle’s track record and your own experience managing rentals as a selling point.If timing is tight, you could look into a bridge loan to secure the property while figuring out a more permanent solution.

Buy and holds is the key to true wealth with all the benefits of depreciation, appreciation, loan pay down by your tenants, leveraging the equity, cash-flow etc etc, but it often times isn't the active income that pays the bills until you build up a portfolio and even then there's the tenant management or managing your property managers.That's why I'm involved in all 3.

If you aren't going to be living in CR full time as you try to execute the deal I do not think it is physically possible for you to obtain a loan from Scotia Bank and not worth your time to try because the rates are so high. 

This is a large community and someone might give you some insights on the lender or the loan officer.  

My original plan was to find a 4 plex in california buy using fha loan, move out after the first year and generate cash flow and appreciation, but after looking at properties it became clear to me that’s not possible with todays market and interest rates.

Even after one year, that property may provide thousands of dollars worth of appreciation, you will pay down your loan and build some equity, and you can depreciate the asset. 

Let's me put numbers to it: Bought a STR for $400K, 20% down, 8% DSCR loan.

There is so much that goes into a successful STR beyond the very basics.Now, projections can help for people using a DSCR loan.

FHA loans follow very strict guidelines when it comes to property condition.

Rates tend to be 25 to 50 basis points above commercial (5+ unit) apartment building loans, and 50-100 basis points above residential (1-4 unit) loans.