The advantage of the law firm is they will do it every time they come up for appeal and you will not have to pay attention to the deadlines. 

You can get the rest of their entitlement by multiplying it by 4$100,250 * 4 = $401,000They can buy a house up to $401K and still use 100% of VA entitlementsBonus: If they want to buy a more expensive home, they have to put 25% down on the difference of the home and the entitlementExample: Seller wants to buy a $601,000 house$601,000 - $401,000 = $200,000 (difference)Down payment = $200,000 * 25% = $50K% down on home = $50K/ $600K = 8.3% down payment

This is not working for the utilities are eating up the rental income (in addition to the mortgage).

For your other new construction project we can get you funding for up to 90% of costs, please let me know what your credit score is, you may also want to bring in a credit partner. 

Connections will be your biggest thing and going to any STR/LTR investor meet ups can help with FB groups.

Spoke to a local real estate agent and some others and so far everyone says that it would be a huge headache (legalities etc) and would cost a ton up front. 

Do they have the necessary resources to stay on top of all the tax issues such as 1031 exchanges, 754 Step-Ups, etc.Feel free to send me a private message if you have any questions here.  

Something I HIGHLY recommend is having a suitable work from home set up.

I have been working in this neighborhood for a while fixing up the historic homes and noticed another one of the houses needing work.

Its easy to check the Max cash out on the new loan to see if it can be rented to cash flow.If not I would simply put 5%, 10% or 15% down, put the rest in the bank and only use 40% of that money as your 50/50 down payment.