You've already laid the groundwork with your self-education and determination.

What could be a contract look like to get the lenders some confidence / certainty on the amount they lend? 

Hi Dillon, I would practice analyzing properties until you can confidently pick out a good deal from the rest.

@Josh Haney search here on BP for a three part series we did on "How to Screen a Property Manager better than a tenant"Can't share the link because one of the over-active moderators will chastise us for "self-Promotion":(

The Boise Idaho market has become an incredible appreciation market with cash flow becoming increasingly difficult to find, but not impossible.

In baseball you can long toss for days, weeks, months before noticing increased arm strength, velocity, etc.

Find a way to increase income by $20 per unit per month with 20 units, and all of a sudden you're making the same added profits as if you purchased 2-3 more units. 2) What is the length and depth of your track record (how long have you been at it, how many units do you have)?

And once you’ve finished reviewing these and are confident in your ability to handle your new investment, you’ll want to find the best financing options for your deal.

It is possible for people to self-manage these remotely but unless you've already managed a short-term rental, there could be a steep learning curve.

New Bern is largely a quiet area, has a bit of a higher density of Violent/Property Crimes than surrounding areas, but that's to be expected as soon as population density increases.