I was initially told that the area across the lake would have two more sets of residential property so I thought the backyard would have a calm lake view.Your opinion would be appreciated!

Is this true or are there some hard money lenders that could be used for renting and generating cash flow?

They actually have a fairly cheap and robust online business banking system for guys like you that initiate a lot of wires called Single Point (at least they did 4 years ago).  

AND that said, when it comes down to it, lead gen is the number one thing you need to get good at, so if you can spend 10 hours/week lead generating and just send all of those leads as referrals, you'll actually be getting great experience in a sense.

Based on my initial research, I have decided to look into multifamily properties which I will hold in the long-term and rent out (otherwise leverage the property for the next deal).

You can always keep partnering with your parents until you've generated enough income to invest on your own.

That was their initial approach - to petition the seller for a return of their EMD, but I felt that wasn’t fair as the seller didn’t do anything wrong - the bank and their realtor were at fault.I may not have mentioned this but the HOA provided all needed documentation of renter/owner ratio before the offer was submitted - bank had that paperwork from day 1 but didn’t decline based on it until the day closing was scheduled to occur.

I have a lot of sources for lead generation with little success.

Hi, I am looking to sell my rental property in Edgewater and want to buy a rental property that generates good cash flow shortly after the sale to qualify for a 1031 exchange.

I know you have already answered my initial suggestion, but I think I should still put it out there for you to consider: Figure out a way to sell it, even at a loss.