The sellers had put so much pots, plants, planters and shrubs out that I thought there were too many plants/planters that would require a new owner to upkeep.After a few potential buyer tours/showings, the owner heard all the comments (via the security cameras) about how there was a "lot going on with the plants and stuff out front".

My contractor mentioned he might've left them since he felt bad about up and leaving the job. 

A great way to get started if you currently have a W2 job is to buy a house hack like a duplex or a fourplex where you can move into one of the units and continue to rent/manage the other units.

Most building codes and HUD standards require bedrooms to have windows for egress and ventilation.

thanks for the guidance @Kaushik Sarkar Since it's development it will take longer to get to the exit. 3 years could be right depending on the market, if the project requires entitlements, how long it takes for permits, no major utility obstacles, etc.

Since I work pretty hard at my day job and don’t have much renovation experience, I wanted something simple—a rental I could put a tenant in and at least break even.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

Avoid PMI and then go to a local credit union and get a heloc after closing to gift the money back.Have this as a tool in your tool belt but pursue use of the 3.5% FHA, knowing that you will be at a competitive disadvantage if you are competing with non FHA buyers, then you can call in the favor from your gift person.Just know that if someone gifts you down payment money, your bank will require them to sign a letter stating that it is in fact a gift that doesn’t need to be paid back.

The requirement to do this generally involves an experienced GC signing on the borrowing entity as a 20+% owner thus making them a signatory on the loan and responsible for the debt which in most cases is not very easy to find.

2 are not cashflowing with the required expenses for vacancy at 10%, repairs at 10% and capital expenditures at 5%.