In order to house hack, do I have to physically be present in the home for a minimum amount of time or can I simply claim a room to myself while I rent out the other areas of the home?

You could either partner with them where they provide the capital and you put in the leg work or they could simply loan you the capital as if they're the bank.

My question is on two things. 1.) would I request simply a loan of private money to supply the money for the down payment.

And regarding finding deals, if you are not doing this full time with the resources to market yourself as a buyer through direct mail, phone calls, knocking on doors, than simply identify your neighborhoods and then look at stale listings on the MLS.

Repairs are simply a natural part of owning ANY real estate, and if you are cash flow positive, the costs simply come out of your reserves from the cash flow.

The rates I've seen are roughly the same you already have, so no sticker shock there, and if you choose to simply pay the line down, it can happen a heck of a lot faster than if you paid down a loan because you can put all your income into the line without worrying about pulling it out in case of need or emergency.Best of luck!

If everything seems really good about the applicant and they simply refuse to provide the SSN, move on and keep searching.

These would simply be to determine your taxable gain.You will however have depreciation recapture taxes due, for the period it was a rental, whether you claimed it or not. 

I've learning there's a different kinds of good CPAs: Those who simply do/file things right.

This shows. so much more strength then simply asking for seller financing as that can come off as desperate.