Need a new roof in a 3-5 years, you probably want to be pretty liquid (year long CD, Money Market, maybe very short term bond fund etc) for those funds.On a condo board 15 years ago, I  was once able to get us into some nice CD's a decade ago that laddered with the useful life of components.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/brrrr-loans-what-are-the-...

I thought about starting out with 1 single family residence for long term or midterm rental.

Make sure it explicitly explains the process for termination if you are unhappy with their services, especially if they violate the terms of your agreement.3.

LTV caps will range from 70-85%, although terms will probably be horrible at 85%. 

If I were to do so, I'd definitely look for small multi-family as opposed to SFRs, unless you're wanting to create a short-term rental(STR). 

Hi, I am new investor and just got my first cash offer accepted for an investment property which I am planning to use for a long term rental.

I am an experienced loan officer and I have multiple investment properties myself.

Since it already cash flows, that could ease that burden for you.For funds, I'm not sure what your existing rate and terms are but you could always try a cash out refinance to fund the next property.

It is using my money to fund someone else's loan request through this hard money lending firm.