And someone jumping into this as a complete newbie can expect that they have a decent chance of making some expensive newbie mistakes.

There's a good chance the investments are bleeding money.

Based on an estimated appraisal of $1.1 - $1.2 million, you could secure a loan of up to $900K (75% LTV).

ThanksXiang - Estimating the ARV before purchase can be difficult.

This would ruin any of our chances to take advantage of a 'first-time home buyer' program, correct? 

The wholetail is a smart play, but you should be cleaning the place thoroughly and doing no repairs and then presenting an honest proforma with rents and expenses estimated so investors have a PDF to look through.

OK - I guess I need to play the lottery then as what are the chances that BP would have over 100 posts on this so called super group from people who have had one post in BP.

Planning for a full renovation from the start is a smart move because it gives you a more realistic view of your budget and timeline, and it allows you to aim for the highest ARV without cutting corners.As you move forward with this flip, make sure to track all your renovation costs closely, since it will help you with more accurate estimates on future deals.

And they estimate the life span of either system to be about 14 years.

My estimate of 15% always ended up being higher, but hey, what's it going to hurt to be more conservative.