They have been around for a long while and are pretty conservative in their lending. 

My wife and I are just getting started in the REI world and we’re pretty excited.

It pretty rough out here for buying and holding / house hacking for 2-4 unit - it’s highly unlikely to have a cash flowing property right off the bat even with putting 20 % down (and also as a house hack) unless you find a place in the boonies and commute in.

I found the property, financed it, and spent a half-day doing the below list of fixes which amount to pretty much nothing if you ask me: installed new white trim/base boards under the kitchen countersSwept and moppedCleaned counters, sinks, bathroom, bathtub, windows, and so forthNew caulking here and there.Cleaned backyard a little. 

If you’re in need of that much, even higher HELOC rates are still pretty reasonable as compared to hard money anyway.Best of luck!

It seems pretty straighforward and a sensible question.I'll be investing starting in August when I have access to my employee 401k, which I will roll into the Solo 401K I have set up.

Our town/county is pretty strict on multi family owners but much less ridiculous on the sfh landlords. 

Pretty strong economy.  

Well i spoke to him today and he agreed to me paying off the rest of the house for him (16% down) and then I would pay him the rest of the “mortgage” (technically it’s already paid off but I will be paying him until I hi 300,000) and he is also willing to do a pretty low interest rate (not an investment property) Now what did you mean by financing?

There are some very reasonably priced laminate and vinyl products out there (there are also some crazy expensive options that are pretty sweet).