BTW, I don't need to keep the property as a rental but would like to.Typically, I buy & hold in my name and refi using a conventional mortgage but this property has a pool so I bought it under my LLC.  

I am new and will be purchasing a STR in the near future by conventional means. 

I would encourage you to consider buying a fixer upper if you do go the single family route, especially since you will use the 5% down conventional loan.

Another way is to network while at one of our trainings or the National Convention to find these people from across the country.Gene

From there, if its truly a duplex (2 units on 1 parcel) then you should be able to get regular conventional financing.

Both houses have conventional loans from two different banks, and a heloc on the primary that is just about paid off.

The govt requires them to allow tenants extensions to make rent payments - their non regulated lenders don’t have to oblige. only conventional loans under government guidelines are required to allow borrowers their own extensionsThis will certainly get interesting

The deal is as follows:Purchase price: $132,000Rehab: $165,000 (adding 2nd story of ~1,000 sqft; renovation of existing base floor of 1,203 sqft)ARV: $369,000 (based on comps, it could sell as high as $400,000)Profit: $44,000 if I borrow mostly from hard money (I will try to use a HELOC or conventional loan to increase the profit)I have an architect and a general contractor lined up. 3 months of rehab.

My timeline could be 3-6 months if I went conventional, or much sooner if I went FHA through Rhode Island Housing.

(*Thoughts: Private money seems to be dependent on knowing someone (which I don't), Hard money seems more feasible, VA loan would require the home to be livable (which in turn may reduce much of the potential value add), conventional loan would require less stipulation than the VA loan, and personal credit cards (Not a bad option with 0% balance transfers and commitment to pay down.