I originally started with a conventional loan and through the process, the lender kept kicking the can down the road.

What makes it a residential loan?

Right now I have been looking into a hard money loan or another idea to help me get started.  

Any banks doing 15 year loans on investment properties in Louisville, KY?

Qualification for a Portfolio loan would be based on how cash-flowing the property is, so make sure to have a solid idea of gross rents received, along with the expenses for the property (including taxes and insurance, maintenance, landscaping, any landlord-paid utilities, etc.). 

My issue is that I do not have tax returns to get another loan for my next property, but I have the money for my next property.What would you suggest for me to get my next property?

Here's a summary of the economics.They purchased the property for $280,000 in 2004.The loan balance is about $178k.Monthly principal and interest payment is about $1,265 with $709 currently going to interestProperty taxes are $4,116 annually and insurance is $1,000.Currently the house is vacant for the sale so there's no rental income.Therefore, the monthly burn is -$1,135 (ouch).For the sale:Property was originally listed at $335k and they received 0 offers at that price. 

Currently there's about $345k left on the loan balance.

I had read somewhere that you can roll lawyer costs (title, etc) into basis cost as well as origination fee and deduct for life of the loan.

I have also bought a contract from another investor that had a property he contracted sub2 the underlying loan.