I would provide the cash and backup reserves, I house hack one of the units, then she becomes the cosigner for me in order to be approved.

Investigate your choices for financing, such as FHA loans, which sometimes have lower down payments.

Use it to buy-down your loan, offset some closing costs, or pay your coach.I love that it forces buyers to realize their agent isn't free to them. 

For example, I know that Lima One will waive a property's seasoning period if you use them for both the initial hard money loan and the longer-term DSCR loan.

Alternatively, if its for the hopes of accessing future real estate loans via the LLC then it may be a moot point as a lot of these bigger banks won't lend on an LLC that's brand new and no history of cash inflows/outflows. 

Consider FHA loans for lower down payments, but remember, the key is to find properties where the rental income covers your mortgage and expenses, ensuring positive cash flow (although in Austin is will be hard, but not impossible, to accomplish)Aiming for five properties in five years is very ambitious but achievable with the right strategy.

The hard money loan is only there for about a month so you can refinance it with your new conventional mortgage loan.

Should we sell the house for equity needed.We are in CA, I am co-signing my nephew’s home, currently paying $1500 mortgage monthly with 2.75% interest, it has 342K left on the loan.

Being that it’s seller financing it’s a balloon payment at 5 years so I will need to refinance out of the loan before the 5 years.

I have a friend that I just taught amortization to as he is trying to quickly pay off his mother's FHA loan to remove a co-signer, then cash out refi (yes, I explained interest rates right now).