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The second reason you should have an agent assisting you is because they should have a vendor list or at least a stack of business cards to get you the contractors you may need for any repairs.To find an agent in your area just call several agents and ask these simple questions...

@George RodriguezFocus on the business, not the business card.

For example, I often will finance purchases of investment assets through zero interest credit cards as I end up paying 3% annual interest through the transfer/advance fee in order to earn 7%-8% on my investment. 

Lenders do a hard credit pull (usually about 1-2 points on your score) to see your score and determine your monthly obligations (credit cards, auto payments, etc).

I found the Real Estate Rookie podcast 2 weeks ago and it lead to me being here and studying on BRRRR and other strategies.

I would just focus on paying off credit cards every month and your credit will increase.

If they have a credit card, Cozy charges the tenant the 2.75% credit card fee, which they may be looking to avoid.

.- can part of the down payment be borrowed money, eg. hard money, or cash advance from a credit card?

@Daniel S. you have to do some digging but look for ones that offer lines of credit. also there are a bunch that do no fee credit cards. i have a couple of these all ranging from 6 to 8 % with ZERO fees so a cash advance is treated just like a purchase you just have to go to a bank and do a cash advance 100% worth the 15 minutes out of your day.