That happened totally unexpected with having those medical problems but I am still hoping that that will pay off someday.   

Some common mistakes are trying to go cheap, not vetting out contractors, paying contractors too much up front, not having contractors sign a contract when you accept their bid, not having enough of a cushion for unexpected repairs (there will always be something)

This is their 2nd month and I'm hoping it was just an accident.

@susan @Susan Little I agree about staying away from foreclosures as they can hide some nasty surprises from costly unexpected repairs to undisclosed liens.  

This is also accounting that rent has risen to 1,500 in order to finance the unexpected HOA cost that I did not know of. 

Add at least a 10% contingency of total project cost so if overage occurs you will be prepared to handle the unexpected. 

There will be enough unexpected expenses you'll need to prepare for without staring at this one coming down the tracks and not doing anything about it.

We are past all that now and are excited/delighted about our #3 addition to the family however it has put a pause on all the above since we feel we should hold onto the cash for security and any unexpected stuff that may come up.

By being conservative, you can always go to the closet for a cookie if an unexpected event occurs, or if the pace turns out to be slower.  

You need an operating account fund for unexpected maintenance issues, dips in occupancy, etc., which can be 1% to 5% of the purchase price (depending on the current condition).If you are funding the renovations out-of-pocket, you will need to raise that.