However, I would get an out of the blue phone call about once a month from someone saying that they'd put up some money if we wanted to go in on a property together.  

One major repair and that's all wiped out (I see people gripe about that all the time)The best use of your money is to find ways to make money from it. i.e.

These lease breaks will cost me 100s of man hours trying to fill these vacancies, repairing damage left behind, and pursuing the civil cases.

These can be used for things like payroll but will get trickier when talking utilities or repairs & maintenance as a lot of those have to do with how old the building is or what condition it's already in

Most of the Flippers want to be around 75% of ARV minus repair cost or lower.

I did a lot of repairs myself but also hired a few skilled contractors for things like electrical work and plumbing.

@Randy AchiTo start flipping houses, learn fundamentals through books, podcasts, and online courses, build a network, start small, and practice repairs.

Quote from @Addy Chupa: When analyzing deals, I usually include a 5% vacancy factor and 5% repair factor based on annual rent.

You don't close a deal the first time you are on the phone and if you do, something is wrong.

I have managed these properties from renting to leasing/repairs etc.