Do you want to avoid financing due to credit issues? 

@Logan Elliott,Most wholesalers will avoid anyone using traditional financing. 

Some of you may think these problems are obvious and I am not posting this to get some sympathy, but rather to help others possibly avoid one or all of these mistakes. 

MISTAKE#2 video walkthrough or better photos could have avoided this. 

Always have a contractor do the work and avoid the situation all together.

How do I go about this to avoid a surprise? 

Is there any way to avoid requiring passive investors to guarantee the loan?

Please see additional considerations below.If you are eligible to set up a self-employed Solo 401k (or have a 401k plan through an employer which accepts rollover contributions and allows for 401k participant loans), another alternative which would avoid taxes and penalties would be to transfer your funds to such a 401k plan and then take a 401k participant loan.

Would love to hear any advice for first deals, maybe mistakes to avoid? 

I would recommend you wire the money to avoid losing the deal.