I always thought a private lender is someone you already have a relationship with (friend, family, co-worker, etc...).  

If you were to be in the market for a ‘fixer upper’ and getting into the world of REI (thinking ahead to using this as an investment/house hacking down the line) The Good Neighbor Next Door loan is another one that could work for you as a teacher (even if you worked part time and taught even a co-teaching half time schedule to maintain teaching status- I would verify that with a lender and still obtained real estate license (I can try to help you connect with some if you’d like) but for you specifically as some lenders you won’t be able to qualify with a commission based (potential at that for now) income for two years (two years of tax returns) in a lot of cases. https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/housing/sfh/reo/goodn/gnndabot Along these same lines a Homestyle loan product may work for you too, having a decent down payment and great credit score.

Who knew being a real estate investor was so glamorous 😂😂😂 HIRE a PM co, much less headache and stress1st mistake, providing appliances, NEVER, now its your problem, They buy its there problem  

It becomes a burden for loved ones when things turn out to be too much work or an inconvenience even though they don't want to let you down.If you want to go the buy and hold route, I highly suggest having a business partner/co-owner  that has the same mindset towards investing as you do AND is local to the area you want to invest in.

If the reason is that they are just backed up, find a co that's not.  

Besides wholesaling, I eventually would like to do fix and flips on my own and with partners on a deal by deal bases in the Essex Co. and surrounding area.

I was thinking that we are bubbled pretty high here in Colorado and the stock market seems bubbled as well.

Sounds like you got an honest answer from a septic co.

I bought a co-op in Freeport.  

Co-insurances is between 80-100% requirement usually with a 10-20% penalty in the event of a failure to comply.