As you said, these things are subjective, so I can only speak for myself.I prefer live-in flips and house hacks.

I would consider starting from that end and working backwards into your preferred deal.

Using a PM to manage the property isnt preferred (because I'll only break even, literally). 

Using a PM to manage the property isnt preferred (because I'll only break even, literally). 

If your financing is long term then you would likely give a preferred return and then a percentage of profits after all expenses are paid.  

The (c) exemption makes things a lot easier for individual sponsors who don't wish to set up a ton of compliance-related machinery for a marketplace and prefer to make use of vendor products to streamline the process. 

We are considering using a property manager but that's not our preference as we want to learn this market and continue to grow our portfolio.

Preferably he/she also does lending.

I prefer more rural property.

@Shimi ElimelechI would prefer renting with an option to buy.