I am not sure what type of real estate investing you're considering, but it sounds like, with your family and busy job, you won't have a lot of time to be hands-on or personally involved. 

Hey Grace I may be able to point you in the right direction for DSCR lenders and some solid property managers in Ohio.

I know this is an old thread.I'd like to get a more recent opinion of these apps.I think the DFD options is very interesting.What we want to do is endorse one of these for our Real Estate Club in Greenville, SC and have a contest for our members to see who can find the most deals with the software.Maybe try and get a rep from the company we choose to come and speak at one of our in person meeting and also negotiate a longer trial window if possible for our members.

We have done it both ways where we fund purchase and they cover rehab but if the individual is less experienced we do not do it that way, we have them put more money into the deal from the start and fund the draws, reason why is we also had a deal where the person said they would do this and never did anything and property sat and loan matured and it was a pain.Just recognize you will still not get 100% financing for the purchase, so you are putting money in up front. 

Personally I like the Section 8 program when the property is located in a super poor area with a ton of blight and crime.

Quote from @Adam Macias: Wholesaling as it is today will be a thing of the past.It’ll truly be strange to even hear people and gurus trying to make big money off it.The more people try wholesaling but then end up not having an end buyer or cancelling contracts or trying weird things like novations, the more all of real estate will be regulated and cause requirements like licensing to be able to transact more than just your personal resident purchase.Which I don't know why hasn't happened sooner.Here's all the states (in red or yellow) requiring a license to wholesale or at least have started the process:Credit: REITipsterI think licensing and regulation is a beautiful thing that should happen if you plan to be an wholesaler and do more than one deal... which is going to be the case for anyone taking this business seriously.Or even it being regulated to need a real estate agent to do more than one deal outside of buying a personal residence.I've had plenty of failed attempts with agents in pursuit of wholesale deals and I know exactly why, it's not because the agent couldn't find me deals, it's just not practical to think there's opportunity for the numbers a wholesaler needs to make a profit on top of everyone else needing to these days.Because the only sellers who truly can sell at a deep enough discount are usually those who ran out of time and just didn't do something sooner with their situation.I know many coaches and gurus will disagree with me but there’s no regulations on youtube gurus and what they teach either.If we look at the current state of the market in hot cities, the availability of online resources to the average homeowner, how many deals can you possibly believe are available at 70% of ARV?

So the fact you’re already thinking about using your sweat equity to add value is a great sign.Even though you found this deal on your own, a solid realtor can do more than just open doors for showings.

Would the person who takes on more labor to repair the property have greater preferred equity or is this usually treated differently?

You can still find solid investment properties at reasonable prices, which can lead to strong cash flow.Diverse neighborhoods: Cleveland has a wide variety of neighborhoods, each with its own character and investment potential.

Quote from @Michael Challenger: I have no qualms with hard money lending, but I need to learn more about the process and structure to these for typical deals so that I am more comfortable and in a position to reduce my personal risk and risk to investors as much as possible.