I am thinking going the promissory note and trust deed route. 

You've got to get through failure to get to success.My own story in real estate has taken that route.  

I think I am going to go the FHA route on the Multi Family and save my VA loan for our personal home purchase next year.

If you go the LLC route, you still have to insure it.

If you can't find a lender that can do this you might have to do a Hard money loan and then do a rate and term refinance.Before you go that route look at local banks for cash out because HML will cost you a lot.

Hardmoney private lender route: purchase, rehab, & refi with a lender ASAP.Most likely six months to two years - private moneyHard money - refi as soon as possible

Had the inspection done and there is clearly work that needs to be done in the $5-$10K range, incl some work around rotten wood, leaky pipes/faucets, holes in doors/walls, small amt of mold in bathroom, sump pump drain issues, bathroom fans routing into attic causing moisture issues...etc.  

When you go the turnkey route, your job is to know what you are looking for, what to check up on and verify, how to run numbers, and how to manage the managers (so to speak).

I have taken the passive route myself and invest in turnkey buy and hold properties with tenants and property management in place, leaving me very little to do once the deal is closed.

Our founder was a former commercial finance attorney prior to starting the company (and I'm actually a former attorney myself), so we feel that that's the safer route to go.