I could be wrong on that, but my team calls on banks all the time to constantly find the best financing possible. 

Although the rentals were good in the beginning in terms of cash flow, we have soon realized that tenants eat up into cash flows with constant issues.As an alternative to this we have heard that we could owner finance these homes and still make some money without the headaches of maintenance.

My agent isn’t responsive enough and constantly advises me against properties that in hindsight were in fact great opportunities.

So, while I could potentially be the money partner (and anything that doesn't require constant oversight, so sifting through data, picking properties, etc) in a REO job, that is all that I could possibly offer from a time perspective.For your 401K for lending, I'm assuming you have a solo 401K? 

Life takes constant work and adjustments to keep re-optimizing things for current life circumstances.I see people today go about their daily lives and most appear to know nothing about cycles.

I'm just wondering if it would actually take more energy to bring the place back up to temp than it would to just let it maintain one constant temperature.

I constantly have to deal with properties where the houses were given on to family members, with everyone's understanding that that person was supposed to have the house, without doing proper probate.

As a California real estate attorney, broker, and Realtor, I constantly see real estate agents who have absolutely no idea about the laws, regulations, rules, and requirements for the product (real estate) that they are selling. 

Regular inspections and constant contact with them is the only solution.

Definitely talk to a lender, because every situation is different and rules are constantly changing.