My first investment will be a single family rental (acquiring a home from a family member, so not a large amount of money coming out of my pocket upfront).

Make sure you know you can afford to make the repairs tho because if your buying a fixer and do not have any money left then it will take a longer time to fix it up. 

This particular deal took over three years, but it was never about the money.

Hi all,    I have a friend / private money person who is going to lend me money to buy a property. 

If you have negative cash flow, you are losing money.

I did nothing except supply the lot and money.

She doesn't need the money, so its more of a matter of recouping what she invested, and making somewhat easier on me to be able to pay her back. 

If you cash out equity in a property, you are "borrowing" that money from the lender.

For plans that will pay off later, get into house hacking, save money for a first payment, meet people in local real estate groups and find a mentor, and put money into things that earn without much work like stock index funds or ETFs.

@Liam Bell"Rich Dad Poor Dad" and Gary Keller's book "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor" teach key tips for buying homes to make money.