Previous expenses to get a sense of the history of the maintenance of the project. 

In addition, you should explore other investment options that are good and common for self-directed investing such as private lending, investing into syndication, note funds and private placements. 

It was advice that would maximize safety and allow for aggressive growth not fueled by a sense of desperation. 

At least the ones that make sense.

Some of the most common are real estate syndication and partnering up.

You can get a decent sense about who they are by how they communicate (or don't communicate). 

But I am in an area where 2% is common.

They are great for short term debt that you will pay back quickly.If there isn't a solid plan to pay it back quickly, cash out refi usually makes the most sense. 

You can ask them for a loan with a fixed interest or, you can use TIC (tenancy in common) for your partnership and fully disclose your intent to buy them out eventually. 

@Doug Pretorius Yes that makes much more sense thank you.