I am encountering roadblocks when it comes to our credit score (mine is good / his is crap), experience with flipping (I have no experience / he has 22 years of flipping experience) and the amount of cash liquidity that some of the hard money lenders want is still on the high end especially starting out.

If so, reach out to them and ask about the experience

Sounds like you have some of that next level experience that many of us beginners and those of us in the mainstream way of thinking have never dealt with. 

I guess the road block is just finding the deals and some confidence/experience.

I’m based outside Houston, I bring over 14 years of managerial experience in chemical manufacturing to the table.

Any thoughts or past experience from folks that were in the same boat? 

Given you have experience with house-hack it may be a good option to look elsewhere.I'm also curious as to whether you are considering other creative options like short-term rentals, mid-term rentals or working on projects that require more rehabs.Best of luck!

No shame in experimenting and seeing what works best for you :)

I have a friend who has some real estate experience (mainly legal, local knowledge) that could be 'boots on the ground' in terms of understanding the locale, assisting with property management.  

The number usually varies from 10-20% depending on credit score, property analysis, etc.Some lenders will work with any level of investor experience, credit scores as low as 660 and can close in as little as 10 days (there are loan options for 640-660 credit scores- they require 20% down).Another good thing is interest only and 6-24 month loan terms- you can refinance by selling or refinancing to a long term DSCR rental property loan at any time once you complete the rehab.Once the property is ready you can sell it or if you want to keep the property as a long term investment, you can underwrite the loan based on your income /debt to income (DTI) ratios or you can go the DSCR route where the loan is underwritten based on the actual or market rents from the appraisal.DSCR loans won't use your income to underwrite the loan.DSCR loans are based off of down payment, credit score and either actual or market rents so it helps to supercharge an investor's real estate goals and net worth.Here's a bit more in detail about how rates are calculated for DSCR loans:1.