I would have put in the requirements that the tenant needs to have an account to ACH their money to landlords account.

Getting into a property with no reserves or access to money will likely lead to bad things.

a partner of mine brought the money on a conventional rehab loan from his bank.

I encourage new people to use Hard Money Loans at the beginning.

That's going to be your best source of capital before seeking owner financing or private money. 

House hacking isn’t an option for me since I have a wife and kids and don’t want to move them around, so I’m exploring other paths — flipping, BRRRR, partnerships, private money, etc. 

.: @Derik S.in my opinion - no, brand new investors should not partner.if you need more money, save up more money.hope this helpsIt's an excellent idea, but like Nicholas said, not in the beginning. 

I have lost money, once. 

Have you ever tried combining private money with short-term loans to maximize leverage?

Maybe I need to look deeper into hard money options.