When trying to obtain some form of home equity loan the bank will want the home to be 100% complete and safe from health and safety hazards, so there is the chance that you would hit a road block going this route.  

If that means that you get more with a 50% split, go that route.

If you go this route, you need to find a real distressed property, where you can use the financing from the HML to do the rehab and capture substantial equity (SHOULD be more equity capture than the cost of the HML - that's why flippers flip!).

Although I think that FHA tends to be the easier route.

As someone who's put down 20k on one of those guru training programs(The usefuleness is debatable since it did propel me into action), I can tell you that there's nothing that digging up some willpower, sitting down and doing some self studies through BP, and spending $100 on real estate books and attending REIA meetings and building relationships with investors/brokers/power team members in your market can't teach you.I'd discourage starting off your RE investing career by taking the easy route and trying to get the lessons handed to you when hard work and experience is really the best mentor you can have.It's been said many time, but if you are able to find a good deal, there will be more than enough people/firms willing to fund it.

Dev Horn - going the branding route, how much are you varying your post card creative / messaging from send to send?

I am ready to get into REI another route.

Why not go the sub-contractor route, pay for the job to be done and not worry about what time they arrive or leave just that the specific job is accomplished by a specific time.

Give them the nearest cross streets / intersection, and ask if they are familiar with that neighborhood; if not, tell them to drive the block, and if still interested to get back to you.

If you're going the route of conventional financing (30 year fixed rate loan) then it will be extremely difficult to make the purchase with an LLC instead of in your personal name.If you're using a commercial loan (unlikely for your first investment property) then they will usually require you to have an entity set up and personally guarantee the loan.