My friend and I have put together some financial models (he is currently a banker and I have been before) and they look pretty good.

Jason,Here is my suggestion for a banker:  Steve Sanchez.  

Go talk to a few bankers before you buy something. 

My name is Victor Sirippi, I'm a newbie in REI, meaning ZERO experience, even though I have a real estate license.I live in Somerset, New Jersey with times where I go back and forth to Columbus, Ohio.I worked as a Banker at the retail level for large financial institution until this month when I was let go.

I want a banker who will tell me if a property is going to foreclosure and why that person should inform me.

Good banker.  

Business law, contract law and tax laws also are on the playing field.Let's begin with your lender, you may know a banker who can give you funding with 10% on a non-owner occupied property, if it's a bank FDIC won't like that at all as a straight mortgage.

@Adam BontragerThanks for the advice, I really like the idea of doing a low interest HELOC loan but I'll have to talk to my banker sometime soon here and see how much I would actually be able to take out with a HELOC.

Just like you make your banker's job easier by coming in with a neatly organized folder as opposed to 1,000 lose pages, and just like you make your CPA's job easier by not showing up with a shoe-box full of receipts, don't give your PM a $30,000 pig and expect them to work miracles - no miracles in this sport, right Chris?

befriend local investors, bankers, realtors, brokers... ect.