We let it ride & then found it was her brother going through a tough separation so occasionally he needed to get away. 

Markets across the country are very hot, unless it’s on off market deal or motivated seller, lowball offers are very tough in this environment,

This is all pretty basic stuff, that you can read about here on BP if you spend a bit of time looking.So, tough question for you - how are you going to succeed at RE investing, if you keep putting in little to no effort on research and just ask strangers for help?

@Charlice ArnoldThis is a tough question because it's so broad; debt is dealt with on a deal-by-deal and location-by-location basis.

So I am looking for information on what to use as the base/patio material. 

We've come to realize that the Boston market is too tough and the numbers don't make sense (to even house hack), so just recently, we decided to hone in on Plymouth, MA... with the idea that it could be a good tertiary market to do furnished rentals (thinking short-term/AirBnB in the summer, and mid-term in the offseasons).

The plan: I am identifying on/off market properties that are targets, will do all of the real estate work (listing, showing, advertising, vetting, etc) and will split the cost of the purchase of the home and the material costs for any needed repairs.The contractor will be subbing out portions of the job and be on site mostly full time until the project is completed. 

I'm located in Dallas so the labor cost and materials may be different but you can get an idea at least.

What strategies have you found effective for breaking through those tough times and regaining momentum?

Have you ever ordered bulk materials from there?