If you had $25k to spend (possibly up to 35-40 if I borrowed a bit), what would you be looking for?

You can sue but you u are gonna spend just as much on legal going after the wholesaler or owner and most likely they have no money anyways so you are chasing a ghost.Unfortunately this happens and this is why you should also follow your checklist and not take shortcuts when buying a property

Go to real estate investor meetups and spend time talking with other investors than salivating at scaling without the proper foundation.

Soft currency, hard currency, it’s equivalents and commodities (natural resources)From there, For local economy cash flow (spending money where you live), you’ll probably get into real estate and local business cash flow activities and it’s deviations 

If the deal is good and the *ongoing* cash-flow numbers make sense, then it doesn't matter what you spend to get it ready.

Make sure that you spend time upfront learning how to use it correctly.

Gambling addiction,drug addiction, seems familiar.

Also, how to prove "Spend more than 100 hours on the activity and no one other individual spends more time than you do"? 

My advice would be not to be pound foolish and penny wise, spend the money now and sleep safer. 

I talked to an investor agent and she asked how much I'm looking to spend on first home (with rehab).