We also try to incentivize early completion with bonuses and punish late completion with reduced payments, but in reality this often becomes challenging because of things outside the contractor’s control.Hope this helps you some.

Bonus Tip:  Find a distressed HUD Home (google Hud Home Store) and you can buy a house for just $100 down!

Those credit card points are looking like more of a bonus...Use a HELOC to buy more property. 

Positive cash flow would be a bonus.

Any stats you can provide would be a bonus. 

I could not find the answer I'm looking for when searching.The following example could be used:- Amount invested $100k- Preferred return (5 years): 8% or $8k- Disposition (Sale) (Year 5): $200kThis simple example assumes no cash flow beyond the preferred return, no cost segregation/bonus segregation, and doesn't take depreciation into account.Would the first 5 years of cash flow (preferred return) not be taxed, and only the remaining amount on the disposition would be taxed (e.g. $200k - $100k + 5 * $8k = $140k)?  

A good real estate accountant can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation and tax planning.I recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year.

QIP can be bonus depreciated.To maximize deductions, consider waiting to make improvements until after the property is converted to a rental.

Do you have any insight for me - I really just want to break even; profit would be a bonus.   

Even with very little cash on hand, you can get creative financing; for example, I did my first flip renovation with a new business Credit card one year with 0.00% APR, paid everything back after the sale, and got points and signup bonuses.