On top of that you have idiots who engage in bid wars and pay retail for a house that has never been inspected (and those are the bidders who will cry foul when they discover totally trashed and destroyed house that will require a full gut job to rehab). 

In our 'day job' business of remodeling we have stayed just a partnership with an LLC.

@Chris Kay beleive you can do DSR loans without a job as they qualify the property, not the borrower.You'd still need 20-25% down though.That's where you have a decision:- Pay down the mortgage, setting yourself up for a future refinance to free up your VA Entitlement.OR- Save up for your next acquisition.Only YOU can make that decision as you have to be comfortable with the increasing debt-load risk and the additional time to manage everything.

There is no doubt my best return would be to flip after rehab, but then I have a job as a flipper.

Job, family, retirement, location, world, moving,  etc3.  

It's good practice in making the calculations needed to decide whether or not to pull the trigger on a potential deal.You soon learn that starting off as a Doctor is less advantageous than starting off as a Janitor, because the game presets your income and expenses based on the job title.

I also reccomend lining up a contractro early, realy early, from what I’ve heard, so you can keep everything on schedule and budget.So now that you’ve tackled what most investors would call a major job, do you see yourself repeating a similar strategy.. or do you feel like branching out into something else?

It's your job as a landlord to respond to these things in a professional manner. 

We don’t plan to leave jobs and live off of the portfolio but have it as a wealth generator aka hedge against future risks

A strong partnership benefits both parties.Happy vendors are more likely to prioritize your jobs and provide high-quality service, benefiting both tenants and owners.Balancing Stakeholder NeedsBalancing these relationships requires a strategic approach:1.Standardized Processes: Implement systems that ensure consistency and efficiency in addressing maintenance requests, approvals, and payments.2.Transparency: Use technology, like owner and tenant portals, to provide real-time updates and visibility into ongoing issues.3.Regular Communication: Maintain open lines of communication with all stakeholders.