Another big concern is the plaster walls and ceiling, some of the ceiling has fallen down and walls have major cracks due to the house settling. 

There definitely may be times when we will purchase the property for cash, but I know right now as beginners, we probably wont have the funds to buy every deal.

@Ryan MooreAs long as your lender does not object - a valid concern brought up by @Mark Bookhagen - you do not need any IRS forms. 

All of them have Sevierville addresses, so the Sevierville dot on the map is a little deceiving as far as actual cabin locations are concerned. 

My concern is that my rate is 5% and current rates for investment property is closer to 6% now.

Judging from the first few pages of the beginner's guide, I think we're looking at possibly doing some buy and hold strategies on single family homes and duplex/triplex/quads, since we both love our jobs and aren't quite ready to jump into the real estate game full time.The amount of information to read up on and understand is dizzying, and I have never so much as held a mortgage of my own. 

My main concern is to protect the assets of my private lender, I need to look further into this due to them possibly having to be on the loan and would like to avoid that due to them possibly being caught in a litigation dispute down the road.

Buying a property and renting it out (option 2) is not likely to cash flow enough to really concern yourself with saving on your rent; not right away anyhow.   

Raise money for a Syndication – This is a great beginner’s way for someone that has a network and wants to get involved in the deal.

Nothing to manage yet but id love to start building out my team as the ultimate beginners guide says!