In a text book case you'd buy a property for half of its ARV (after repair value) and then spend 25% of ARV on rehab and generate 25% equity.

I don’t want to spend a month in a dump.  

What's left after all that is your cash flow.Collecting cash flow to spend is an amateur play.

Quote from @Marc Shin: Hello - is it worth spending money on boardgames within an STR? 

I'll share first: I plan on spending the first bit of the year saving for my next deal--I'm looking for a SFH somewhere in the midwest to long-term rent.

Why are people going for $10M or more, which is at the point you'll have trouble spending it all. 

Staying proactive not only protects your tenants but also safeguards your investment.

I think broader consumer taste is killing malls, which includes online shopping, but also even where people are choosing to live and how they are spending their time/money, more broadly.I worked for a company that bought a failing mall back in 2012 (online shopping was "killing retail" then too), redeveloped most of it into more open air power center and sold.  

- We've got an owner we're about ready to terminate because we email them information that they refuses to read and always wants us to call them and spend hours talking about it.

You could also look into regional banks or credit unions with experience in real estate development for middle-ground options.If I were you, I’d spend some time shopping around for the best rate/terms.