You could give them a thousand bad reviews, if they are the only person in town offering a specific type of product, people will still do business with them.

.: I’m looking at a property that checks all the boxes—good numbers and fits my buy box—but I haven’t seen it in person.

They will schedule an inspection to verify that the second bedroom does in fact exist in the apartment.I am not sure, I believe it’s because this apartment is only being rented by one person on the lease.  

That is my personal go to.

We are now at 21 doors under management and 3 are personal units that we self manage.

Hey @Chris GarnesI just came across your post, and it immediately reminded me of a project I handled with a colleague in San Diego, Dennis Bragg - https://www.biggerpockets.com/business/page/3607  - You’re sitting on some serious potential with these two properties, and your plan to step back from construction while finishing them makes total sense.For Home 1, with no mortgage and a prime design upgrade underway, you’ve got flexibility that most investors would envy.

Sometimes only one person to help you and they're not quick, or not cheap, or you just don't like the way they work? 

With regard to renovations, I always suggest taking incremental steps to bigger renovations or partnering with someone who has already done a renovation at that level.I've been known to just go for the big rehabs for my personal investments here in Chicago , and during that process, it's always more stressful than it needs to be...As far as navigating the competition, I've found the best thing I can do is get EXTREMELY CLEAR  on what I am looking for; then I am confident pulling the trigger quicky. 

Once again, this matches my personal experience that the larger, more expensive properties continue to sell better than smaller properties. 

I spend roughly $120k on my renovations, but this is for the entire property and developing the secondary suite which certainly costs more (2 new furnaces, all new plumbing, new kitchens and bathrooms with tiled floors and showers).All said and done, I personally love it.