I do have enough for the down payment, but if I could borrow, I thought that would be advantageous.

With notes, you are exposed to lawsuits by borrowers. 

I think mortgage companies state this in the lien to make it easier to foreclose on the property in case the borrower does not pay.

You can't invest future appreciation and you can only borrow out part of the appreciation you already have.

Asking a borrower to pay a fee to a loan broker or lender before receiving a viable LOI is like a waitress demanding her tip before she’ll take your order.

When dealing with professional lenders, you should expect:-  You'll need to come with a downpayment-  They will only lend on a percentage of the ARV-  Their rates will be high-  They will charge points-  They will do a full financial history on youRemember, professional lenders are business people, they're not in this to do a favor for borrowers. 

The borrower can stop paying at any time, for any number of reasons.

Just apply for another 100% borrowing for each deal!

I must remind myself that tax benefits and the availability of borrowed money are the two great advantages of real estate investing.

Using VA and getting it restored take some time since the VA is not always the quickest depending on where your regional center is (luckily your in phoenix, thats where the VA admin is on the west coast).I like VA because you can do fourplexes with 0% down and qualification is fairly easily while offering the borrower ability to live for free or make net positive cash flow monthly.