You could structure a win-win situation where Investor A (the seller) gets his proceeds to cover the work on the remaining properties, while holding the note for you.

The problem is that you have to accept the dog but the insurance carriers do not cover bites from Pitbull's.

My wife and I can cover $75,000 or so, but we would need a loan for the rest until we can get a SBA 7a after closing.

Since your friend covers utilities, this offsets some of your cost.

HI Bracken, I have a rental house in Ogden, and you're right the market has really been going up recently.My goal on such homes has been to buy with 20-25% down and have the rent be able to cover my PITI & professional property management.  

Currently, less properties are qualifying (or lower LTV being offered) due to the rental income not covering the mortgage loan plus expenses.

One of the reasons I asked the question is that it seems strange to me that a property management wouldn’t take anything upfront if they inherited a house that wasn’t ready for rent .Our property management also does the cleaning ( deep clean over 4 days was $1000 but they had to deal with some nasty pet hair , fleas etc)and that included some cover up paint etc .One lesson learned here is every contract with owner : property management varied greatly it seems from what is needed .But moving forward - I feel that $500 a month on a $2100 a month property is too high once it’s rented - unless endless problems persist of course ..thanks for your insight!

- For those who build in phases, how do you structure budgets and plan cash flow to cover extended construction timelines?

The biggest mistake new investors make is to walk a property, maybe explain in general terms what they want and then let the contractor come up with the SoW.For a bedroom this could be:- replace carpet- repair closet dooror- remove carpet- remove curtains, nails and screws- replace closet doors, entry door SKU#- replace window SKU#- refinish hardwood floors 144 sqft, clear/oil-based- prep and paint all woodwork- patch walls, texture, paint walls eggshell white clay, ceiling flat white- replace light fixture SKU#, replace lightswitch w decora/white, replace 3 outlets&covers- install blinds SKU#Obviously, the cost would be quite different.

Some real estate brokerages may even cover the cost of your license classes.