A blueprint is good, but when you say "Goal is to try for 8-10 Properties and try to leave my W-2 in 3-5 years" that often makes people rush to achieve the door count and in doing so, bad decisions are made.If you think more holistically about your journey, you will stress less.

We can see where I might be able to help you make some sound decisions as you move forward.

For example:Task              Estimate       % Certain       Low Estimate       High EstimateDemo            $1,000           80%               $800                    $1,200Roof             $8,000            90%               $7,200                 $8,800Construction $8,000         80%               $6,400                 $9,600Misc              $4,000            90%               $3,600                 $4,400--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------TOTAL           $21,000                               $18,000               $24,000For me this is useful to determine a good deal because if the high estimate is still good I know that even if everything goes poorly it will still be ok.

If they perform poorly, you are out the rent income or their paycheck, and you have to pay to fix the problem.

I'm reviewing my rental property insurance after having gone through issues with the first ever claim on my current policy, which we're finding out has poor claims service and lacks ordinance or law coverage.

I recently read Rich Dad Poor Dad and I have been bitten by the real estate bug.

Why is the decision based solely on what the past owner did or didn't do?   

She should have let us know earlier (it was over 2 months without getting a reply from her).Like many professions there are good appraisers and poor appraisers, but my experience is even the good appraisers appraise refinance homes conservatively (but find decent comps to justify their appraisal).Good luck

The contractor says poor quality materials but that doesn't mean that was true.

Yes, it could be the signs of a certain personality defect, but it just as likely could be the sign of a young 20 something being "young n dumb" making poor choices.