I put my money where my mouth is and I am also buying properties in localities where I am selling to my investor clients. 

Weirdly, you may actually be able to get better terms and/or more LTV on the refinance if there is debt on the property as lenders have rules for max cash in hand (max proceeds you get at closing) for cash-out refinances.  

I can't seem to find out the actual %.

Hopefully the deposit covers Jan rent, make sure you give them an itemized list of the money owed to you for any damages or unpaid rent. 

LLCs are not exempt – you do need to send 1099s to most LLC owners.How do you know if they actually are a corporation?

At the end of the day; you need more money to do something like this.MAX LTV on new builds is 80% LTC, Meaning if the build is $550,000 and Land is XAdd ($550,000 + x ) * .8 = LOAN AMOUNTYou would need to come in with MINIMUM 20% of the cost in addition to closing costs and reserves, $80,000 is not going to cut it for this project.

Hence the lot on which the house resided was taxed at a 45% discount based on actual value, while the tennis lot was taxed at about 4 times what it should have been by value. 

My remodel strategy is to use some of my own sweat equity and running subs to save enough money to upgrade the flooring, kitchen and baths slightly beyond the peers. 

@Glenna Wood, They're actually in conjunction with a 1031. 

A good investor's agent knows when its necessary to request repairs or even concessions to offset the cost and even have repair money escrowed for the buyer to draw from after closing.