Your best bet would be to find a reputable VA Lender and talk with him/her about the process and what you're hoping to do. 

Eventually we want limit our area of influence to a smaller niche but we need to find properties where we can get on the map and do a few deals to start building a reputation and generate income.

From my perspective, my name and reputation were on the line and at the end of the day if something went wrong and the bank foreclosed, I would have still done everything in my ability to make my "Private lender" whole and repay that debt.This was another investor, so he approached it with an investor mentality. 

Here are some reasons you don't pay more if you work with a reputable turn key company:1.

If its something you flushed down the toilet its going to cost you $ 300.00  (Its in the lease)   Now she says its my sewer line , right and in the lease you are responsible , you can call a plumber , but they start at $600 and go up from there . 

I have been looking around the internet for private monies as well , attempting to find a reputable lender.

If you come across any of those companies that seem reputable please let me know and I will do the same.

We moved the listing with one most reputable teams in Vegas and put put it  in contract two days later.

We move quickly and have a solid reputation as a management company so we can move properties much quicker than if we waited for a process such as Section 8.  

If you start with a few rentals, and the sink busts, are you going to pay a plumber $300-$500 or can you spend 5 minutes tinkering with it yourself.