If everything checks out, they could be a solid option for your first investment deal.

Another route is using a HELOC or cash-out refinance on your first property to pull equity for the purchase.

One middling program I got into, I later learned the founder was trying to get out of managing real estate because "it was hard" so he decided to teach real estate investing instead. 

If you’ve got questions about real estate or just want to catch up, don’t hesitate to reach out. 

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Two ways out in case of a fire is a must.  

But it turned out, it was his roommate (who moved in without telling me, but turned out to be a good tenant) that was doing the cleaning up.

Interviewing multiple GC's is the best way to operate, but make sure you are communicating to them that you may want to limit their scope of work as you may intend to SUB out some of the work ourself. 

This means you must always be able to rent out your properties at faster than inflation rents.

Another option is to split the cost based on the number of occupants in each unit but this also means you'll need to adjust the charges as tenants move in/out, so it requires more work and I wouldn't recommend it.