Companies typically last only ten years on average.

The average company only survives for ten years, while even large companies typically last just 18 years.

In your example, $250 in utility bills is much cheaper than $2500 to fix frozen-pipe damages!

Additionally, how many calls does it typically take you to successfully close a deal using this approach?

This is a small campaign so I want to avoid paying for a service.Any advice or examples would be greatly appreciated. 

That is not something you typically can charge an owner on an owner finance deal. 2.

For example, I have a private lender that gives me 8-9% on the rate for rehab costs when I am usually getting about 10.25-11.25% on the rehab costs from hard money lenders, and the HML is not sending the full money upfront, but in draws (this is normal for most HML) which is a lot more cumbersome. 

Once converted to a rental, repairs and improvements may qualify as deductible expenses, but pre-conversion repairs typically do not.

You won't be able to use conventional financing and must use a non-recourse loan which typically require 40% down.

That's a typical scenario and could cost you $10,000 - $15,000 so that would be a good starting point for your reserve.But there's more!