I have spent quite some time learning, researching and preparing for my first Short Term Rental.

My name is Karina and currently a newbie trying to learn more about real estate investing. 

I would do some research and learn how to manage yourself.

Connecting with other investors and house hackers in Grand Rapids is a great way to learn and gain valuable insights.

I am interested in making connections, learning new ideas on how to improve our properties, offering help where I can, and of course, finding more properties. 

If you're basically asking this third person to loan you money for the downpayment, why don't you do just that?

@Maurice Giro, as the others noted, it really comes down to what are you looking to learn.  

What do most do in terms of keeping rental business out of personal finances?

If you want to get around this simply require ALL credit reports be given to you for the purpose of supervision of your agent to prevent discrimination against protected classes under the Fair Housing Act.I would not pay any lawyer a dime if they could not prove this appropriate business purpose.Does the person that wrote the following sentence practice out of form book?"

Being at a similar spot in life, I work and manage a fund and most of my personal investments are now very passive.