Then, find a mentor doing what you want to do.

First, if you go to the top of the page there is a section to "Find a Lender".  

If you find someone great, you can give her a notice that you won't be renewing her month-to-month lease after the specified month.

Id also recommend on taking a look at the find a lender tab at the top of the page.

So my challenges will be either to find a lender willing to accept debt for the down payment or raising the entire capital stack but I'm not sure I would have enough 'friends' to raise that much and the more members in the LLC, the more it acts like a security.When I stated 'avoiding the bank requirements,' I was referring to the process of going through committee approval, extra documentation, negotiating any covenants, etc. 

Currently, my partner and I are focusing on finding deals for flips.

And find out whether they would require a liability waiver from each guest.

Pro tips: Boost credit (aim for 670+), get pre-approved, find a savvy lender, and get creative—think home equity lines or teaming up with an investor.

If you can pull out an extra $20K a year I would go that route with the STR and you can use other VRBO's/AIRBNB receivables to find out local annual ROI/NOI.

Maybe it's just finding the right lender.