If you have paid much upfront, you can cancel the transaction and then wait until the seller gets everything ready.It also sounds odd they are charging the 2500 origination fee without the loan closing.

Your safest bet in something like this would be to live in it, rehab it, then sell it/rent it out and do it again.

I'd think it's odd for a contractor to ask you to cover their fees for licensing, they should just build that into their bid.Typically for smaller contractors doing windows and doors or re-roofs we've seen them add a permit fee which covers our services the cost of the permit and also most of the time puts money back in their pocket.

I think your best bet would be to go through your rolodex and ask them what they are looking for (asset type, specific returns, timeline, etc) and become a bird dog/wholesaler where you would sell the deals you find.

I like the purchase we made because the numbers work well for LTR as well as STR, so regardless of how things end up going with the STR business - we're in a pretty good spot.I'd advise others to do something similar, hedging bets just seems to put ourselves in the best spot possible when the economy is on the fence like it is now

Apartment complexes normally are a safer bet for repairs, big SFH attract big groups of kids which will also increase parties of course

I'd bet he makes more on the marketing side as opposed to actual RE Investing.

Like has been said, the Midwest markets are going to be your best bet.

Hey Ivan, since you mentioned you're new to real estate investing, starting with a turnkey property and house hacking first might be a safer bet.

You can get great cash-flow in Cincinnati and I think C areas would be your best bet.