I beleive partnerships are best for short term projects (flips for example) and raising money is better for long term buy and hold (you still hold all the decision making power). 

If you are on a budget, I would hold onto that and first try to pick pockets of areas you are trying to focus on in your market.

And then we can hold it for. up to 180 days. 

From what I"ve gathered on a few posts, I believe the hard money loan downpayment, closing costs, and holding costs likely require cash whereas the hard money loan, renovation costs, and selling costs are essentially covered via loan/after selling.

Not all lenders see it this way, but a good mtg broker should be able to navigate your specific situation.On a small handful of DSCR products, you can do a refinance not to exceed your TOTAL cost basis (ie. purchase price + rehab + holding costs) and have that transaction considered a rate and term refinance vs a cash-out.

I focus on small to slightly larger multi family buy and hold.

When you're done be sure to post it in the completed deals section so others can learn from all of your success.Yes, my investments have been mostly long-term buy and hold rentals. 

And given their hold timeline being perpetual, the 2-ish years of no cash flow does not really matter.

Obviously, your goal is to utilize the asset to its highest and best use, which is likely the midterm rental route or possibly short-term rental, depending on regulations in Baltimore.I would run the numbers on long-term renting and have a plan for when you PCS next, what your exit strategy is, or will you continue to hold long-term. 

Typical investor presentations typically start with the projected overall returns, which almost any model will provide (in fact that is effectively the whole reason they exist), and often a hold period summarized pro forma, to show a bit more of the details that flow into your returns.Again, I think you should hit up Adventures in CRE.