get tenants in at market rents or slightly below, build a track record, trailing 12 then refi at a lower interest rate with a regular bank loan.Make sure you cash flow with the terms/interest rate with a hard money lender.

I have found their prices to be competitive with REIGuard if not lower.

Being in our lower 20’s we still both live at home but are getting married in September.

The lowest quotes I got start at $275sf so yours is much lower. 

If you close a credit card with no balance, all you're accomplishing is lowering your borrowing power by whatever the credit limit was.

You are buying a cheaper property with more down, I just assume your costs for PITI would be lower than mine.

We showed the bank our plan to improve the NOI by doing those things and got them to lower the down payment by 5%.

Lower expenses?  

Part of me thinks a cheap solution could be skim coating the wood with some form of product to get it a bit smoother and then paint with a lower sheen.

As far as expenses, I budget 8.3% for vacancy so that I have a month reserve by the end of the lease, then lower it if the tenant renews for another year.