Schedule a second walk-thru when you are serious about a property and bring along someone experienced or a contractor to look over the property.

You are talking spreadsheet language in the post that doesn't really correlate to real life unless you are very experienced and using this data based on your experience.

Im an experienced renovator and fireman. looking into buying my first investment property in my area.

But they are getting the advice from people who are either (1) not qualified or experienced enough to rely on their advice (2) biased to some degree, perhaps unintentionally, by their background, business interests, training, etc, or (3) providing advice in a general sense without a thorough understanding of the questioners personal situation or ALL the relevant facts. 

Edit: And taking 10-20% equity on a deal like this with an experienced investor might be completely worthwhile and life changing to be clear. 

I’ve focused on passive multi-family deals, and now I’m excited to share new syndication opportunities from experienced sponsors in the multi-family and manufactured housing communities (MHC) sectors. 

You are experiencing what pretty much every flipper is experiencing. and let me start with that the 70% rule is only a guideline, and in a market like Denver, it will rarely happen.

Nothing against Detroit, it's a good market for experienced investors, but not for someone who already made a market mistake.

I am an experienced Realtor in Los Angeles, CA.

And, I've experienced this myself a few times as an REI.