The problems with the project mostly stemmed from the crawl space work, which required shoring, replacing structural members, leveling floors and insulation. 

It is in a northern MI Downtown area (opp zone) in a county seat with 2 hospitals, had it re-zoned to mixed use, and is considered blighted which makes it eligible for MEDC funding of up to 50% of project cost.It is 8k sqft (4,000 each level) with the lower level being a walkout (top level is street level with sloped drive down to the rear of the building).

Quote from @Casi Rice: Marketing idea: find 1-2 trusted property management partners.

That can vary depending on the market and the level of service provided.Hope this helps!

So... if I were to advise a friend, I'd tell them, sure, if you really wanna buy, this platform is fine, just like Roofstock is fine, if you really don't have a team built out and trust built in to find better deals & opportunities.

Some trusted vendors to build initial credit include:Uline: Office supplies and shipping materials.Quill: Office products.Grainger: Maintenance and repair products.These vendors report to business credit bureaus like Experian, Equifax, and Dun & Bradstreet, helping you establish a payment history.3.

Quote from @Jeff Brogan: I would hire a trusted expert to get you real numbers, someone that does it in that area all the time (rents out properties/property management). 

Try to reduce the number of problems you can think of to a manageable level, or instead of a 5 bedroom place maybe go a little smaller with a 4 or 3 bedroom that is generally more manageable and not pack people in like sardines.  

Calling the appraiser to see what you can do to push it up a "C-Level" would be smart before doing any reno also, might only need a few things to make it far more valuable in the eyes of the bank.I've heard of a tactic for figuring out demand, which is to put up a dummy or coming soon listing on facebook marketplace and see the amount of activity you get on it. 

Partner up--- find guy or family trust with coin and credit with no expertise or time!