If you had 20k in your pocket and credit over 700, where would you put that money? 

Once you have a track record the private money will come from your extended circle and people you meet at your local REIA meetings.  

I use Cozy for background and credit checks, I take the cost off the first months rent if they are approved. 

I have 250K on a line of credit with interest at an Annual Percentage rate of 5% that I can utilize.

. $1000 on a roof from a reputable company vs tracking down some one if things go wrong... not something I would want to spend time/energy/money on.  

It appears we are at the top of a credit cycle.

@Steven LewisI'd just use excel for tracking all expenses and income related to that property.For getting paid, you could use PayPal to make payment requests.You could set reminders in your phone to remind you to send out those reminders. 

I have excellent credit rating and available funds for a 20-25% down payment.

I would house hack, but since I have 2 kids and one on the way I don't think that will work lol So has anyone started with just commercial properties, and if I am understanding properly the financing of the loan is based on cash flow not the credit of the person applying...

Take out a 100% Home Equity Loan (not line of credit) from my credit union on my personal home and put some cash with the equity loan for a cash purchase.