Jim, feel free to add us to your connections.My company is a private buyer and private lender on low ARV $ SFR properties throughout the country. 

Yet you are already flipping properties, so I assume you know that.My company is a private buyer and private lender on lower ARV $ SFR properties throughout the country. 

I can get a line of credit to start somewhere between 27-30k my private banker told me.

is there any reason why 90% of the realtors would keep that private

Giving some more details might attract more professionals to this post and they can help you out! 

Too many people pay $30k for a guru to tell them everything, but if you can "sacrifice" $10-$20k of potential profit, you will have real-world experience, relationships AND the ability to go to private money or bank financing with and actual track record.

Or to ignore the hassle of a FHA 203k or construction loan, you could conventionally finance the house, put your 20% down, then finance the renovation by other means--credit cards, personal loan, car loan if you have equity, private money from a relative?

Do you have a good real estate attorney to keep things professional between you?

Sure, you can classify yourself as a real estate professional or setup a property management component and pay yourself a salary that could convert that passive income to earned income, but it generally does not make sound financial sense to do so.The gig work could potentially support a Solo 401k.  

@Shane M.keep things simple: just use your IRA as private lender to your friend.