My wife has excellent credit mine is good.

My first thought was a flip, but from what I could see in the property, no improvements have been made.

So my main question is how extensive of improvements, changes, etc can I make to this 20' access easement that goes thru his front yard and right next to the corner of his house?

I am dealing with the same feelings you are, except, I've been reading for a few years =) My main focus is educating myself and working on my credit because I feel as though investors wouldn't take me serious if they see my credit was all over the place. 

Background check of tenantRent RollUtilities detailLast 3 years tax returnSecurity deposit of tenantProperty managementrecent improvement/maintenance recordWhat are some creative ways to structure this deal without completely liquidating my capital?

I'll want to separate my personal and business expenses from the very beginning and I will be opening a business checking account and business credit card to help me do that.

., try this: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8121/51415-pro...They have deleted this on me before, they told me it had too many links to an outside site, like i was promoting it, i removed the links but left one recognition of who the author was, because i'm not taking credit for something i did not write, and yet they still delete it from the blogs, but it is on my list of blogs .

I also don't want my credit to take a hit with all this loan activity. 

Whether you use an Equity Line Of Credit, or private loans, there's no escaping the hit your current cash flow would take!

If you compare it with buying investment property using 100% cash - you are actually improving your returns because of the use of leverage.