As to funding, the investor special - bridge + refi + GSE.

If you have a contractor ready to bring money to the table for the rehab, plus moving money for your cousin, perhaps those funds could be used to cure the loan, then supplement the rehab with hard money? 

My wife sold her house earlier this year and wanted to use the proceeds for her son's college fund.  

Here's how I do it.You need to look for another partner (cash) that wants to hold.Use the "flip" partner to fund the deal, and pay for the rehab.After the rehab is done, and there is a tenant in place, use the next partner (hold) to "buy out" the 1st "flip" partner. 

@Eric Adobo my other thought would be to roll the funds into a duplex, I could get one for about $300k, and both sides would rent for a total of ~$2,600.  

The other thing I like to do, is in off years i.e. low income years I encourage clients to pay taxes by moving income into the current year or funding a Roth IRA of some type in order to use deductions in higher income tax years.

My financial planning team and I focus our business on anywhere from new to seasoned real estate investors on managing their cashflows, giving them a financially organized snapshot of their assets and liabilities, and helping them allocate their funds to achieve their goals.

I am wanting to know how I would be able to fund a property without having the cash myself or having a close connection that has cash. 

The excitement I had then ran out when I was lead to believed I would never have the funds available to break in to the industry.

When a target property surfaces, be prepared to act on it within HOURS not days.Be prepared to show a solid proof of funds (not a print-it-yourself POF from a hard money site) and to submit a reasonable offer (most likely 97%+ of asking price).And if you have a good agent, you'll get that property under contract and start you due diligence.