There are some caveats we would need to work through; I have two brothers that technically each have a third ownership per the trust (this would work out to 25% ownership for them each based on the current math since I already 'own' [on a private loan agreement with my parents] 25%).

It’s how professionals effectively reach their target audiences, and in no industry does that appear to be more important than real estate.Being one of the biggest client-facing industries in the world, real estate is one that benefits the most from various social media platforms.

What I do like about them is that since they are a public company, and not privately held I do have access to information about them. 

My cash reserves are somewhat low and so I would like to learn more about the up and downsides of using private lenders and hard money lenders.

All though listed as Cash Only deals - you can still use non traditional financing, such as a hard money lender or a private lender.

My Timber farmers who were just salt of the earth folks who lived off the land.. the biggest obstacle was they simply did not believe in anything other than selling and paying tax's.. most did not believe it was legal to 1031 timber deeds.. most of the time they just used a tax service and relied on them for their tax advice..I see most veteran property owners as not easy marks at all.. most of the time they want more than the property is worth.. :)

I’m trying to do something similar with a ten unit complex, but my initial lender is private money who is willing to work as long as 10-15% of equity is in the deal.

The biggest reason is so few are actually working in A/B areas. 

No original thought here, but I believe strongly that the single biggest reason for failure or lack of action is a disconnect with their purpose- their “why?”

Where are they coming from, if a private residence you could increase deposit for lack of rental history.