My contractor, a restoration company owner of 15 years noticed the water was clean and the leak caused minor water damage to the house itself.

That was 7 years ago & they have restored it, re-roofed it & rent units/rooms to a couple of other disabled veterans & they haven't missed a (direct deposit) payment.  

These were what the numbers looked like:Purchase $200KRehab $14K (cosmetic)ARV $270KIn discussions with my lender about how to get rid of the PMI as quickly as possible, I asked him about refinancing  after I had restored the property to neighborhood standards and its value had risen to the level of the comps in the neighborhood.

My tenants drug the process out much longer than it needed to be by calling the county and harassing the restoration crew almost daily. 

To some of your points:“Pay cash” - Can’t you cash out refinance when you borrow to turnkey - ie 20% down and mortgage the rest? Or

What if the internet or cable TV service goes down and it takes a while to be restored?

I drive through often and see families pushing strollers and walking their dogs as you see a fully restored mansion next to an abandoned shack.

Are you in the section of town where people want climate controlled storage for their painstakingly restored 1969 Mustang Shelby GT, or are you on the developing side of town where contractors just want a place to store excess building material in a box? 

For example, the attic restoration estimates were around $8K. 

A water restoration company assessed the damage, ripped up the floors and drywall and have found excessive amounts of black mold in the kitchen and main hallway.