I am a financial advisor by trade, so I have a decent amount of real estate knowledge, due to the nature of my career.

The basic structure is for the partner to bring the down payment of 20-25%, and we do ALL of the 'work', meaning finding properties, rehab management, finding and placing tenants, ongoing PM, and all financial planning too. 

Future goal is to gain financial freedom from real estate investing.

Heloc can be great but just remember no matter your financial status with a heloc you will forever owe it should you run into any problems.

As soon as we found out instead of feeling sorry for ourselves we immediately started problem solving and figuring out how we were going to beat this thing and how we were going to maintain financially since my doctors were telling me I wasn't going to be capable of work.From February 2015 to December 2015 I was put through the ringer with chemo, stereotactic radiation, surgery, and some more chemo.  

I'm a 21 year old who wants to achieve financial freedom by 30.

My ultimate goal is to obtain financial freedom from a day job which I discovered was possible through wise investing!

If you are tight on cash flow, it is recommended not using reserve, but these days we have credit card that can cover the unexpected repairs, so not using your reserve for other deals might be bad financial decisions. 

I would appreciate any pointers and instruction on how to get financial backing/investors with out being a W2 earner.I am excited to see all of the discussions, interaction, and help that this community is built upon. 

It would stand out like a sore thumb in that area.