Agree on building out a team, but also am starting to realize it's kind of like a chicken and the egg scenario... tough to really build a team without any work for them to do, and tough to have work for a team until you have a deal underway. 

It was not a lie because I'm an investor and my buyers are my "partners".  

So the whole "be honest and declare your income to the IRS because if you lie it'll be hard to get a mortgage" dynamic isn't applicable here, if that's why you are eager to declare income and be taxed on it.

They then resort to lies and deception to get sellers to sign the contract.

Are they lying? 

Most of our experience and interest lies in landlording, but I'd be open to working with other investors to fund deals as a private lender in the future. 

@Jerad Miller My rule, that is a lie, my wife's rule, forgive me darling, is to never touch the equity in our primary residence for leveraged investment purposes.

If there was an actually lie, then that's different than a failure to disclose, and there may be some liability.

I told him can't be bank is lying on this.

I don't tell lies, I act in good faith and I make sure the seller knows I am acting in my best interest and they should act in theirs.