and build cost went up though as well. but still we are for this short window in time reaping the benefit of the market smiling on us.. as we also got the short end of the stick when the market ravaged our equities in 08 to 2011..

Of course we all want an agent who is responsive, knowledgeable about the homebuying process, and is pleasant to work with, but if they don't understand your goals as an investor... none of that matters.Ideally, you'd find someone who specializes in the investor "niche" and analyzes multiple deals per week for other clients so they'll have plenty of know-how to help you find a killer deal. 

Pleasant) which handles "subject to" and "wraps"? 

What's the terms of your agreement; how many days do you have to assign your contract, what happens if you don't find an assignee, do you have a legal and air tight assignment agreement, are you legal (not acting as an agent), is there real consideration, how much and who is holding it consideration, do you have a built in extension in the event you don't close in time, do you have right of possession durning contract period, what showing arrangement do you have?

-"2 grand" promises the bathroom will be completed in time and the rest of the project will be completed upon our suggested timelines.

In my opinion, a 'complete renovation' would normally cost more then 10K per unit but then it depends on what they mean by 'complete'.There are lots of questions to ask and have answered before you can determine to move forward of not;- Statement of work (SOW) regarding work done- What is warrantied and for how longetc.Also while this is not a 'turnkey' as it seems that HW does not own the property, they are certainly intimately involved.

They will spend as much time as you need working through just about anything and they are very pleasant to deal with - a very rare thing these days. 

We live a small beach town and figured that we wouldn't get much action until the summer, but we were pleasantly surprised that bookings starting rolling in fast. 

From my experience shoreline certification can be a pain. 6 months to 12 months is realistic and then they are only valid for a certain period of time so if you do not finish the project in time they will expire and have to get another one.

You took action during a period in time when most people told us we were crazy for buying houses.....