@Tia PowellWelcome.Your profession should be the source of all the private money you will need.Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info.

My first deal was a trailer in plainview, ne on a private lot.

If you wish to be a little confidential, send me a private message. 

In short, if you want a seller-carryback note created on or after January 1, 2014, if it is a private individual, trust, or estate, then ask them to sign an affidavit saying that they have not done more than three in a 12-month period and how many of them had balloons.

The result is that whereas 5 years ago passive investors expected little more than an investment summary, investors now expect (and demand) a private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, attorneys opinion, tax opinion, and full compliance with the securities regulatory environment, even on smaller deals. 

I have read about private lenders here on Biggerpockets, and even researched the lenders on the directory it seems the ones that deal with the location I am interested in (GA) only finance fix and flips.

We have not yet used private money but believe we could do more with it.

Any recommendations on how I can tap into private investors who are interesting in lending at a 16% APR and allowing us to put down 1.5% of total loan? 

If you would like to know more about the deal please private message me.

It's best to use cash - either by using a line of credit, private money or hard money to fund the deal.