Work thru what you would bid on the house, what you think repairs would be, what you think your ARV would be.

This will show you that people have options to go out and pick another house over your place. 

Is it better to keep adding equity by doing work on the houses while I'm renting them then refinance to recover the initial down-payment to reinvest into another property or to pay down the heloc?

You don't want to distract the buyers from the house with too many items or stuff.

Are there any house at that price point that would rent for $1200-1500/ month with 20k worth of updating?"

I know in Philadelphia if I had a 2 BR house it would be viewed favorably by tenants who are seeking 2 BR living situations because most inventory will be apartment style living and for this reason would achieve a rent premium.

*Have a USP right of the bat to convert leads*Have a huge/constant flow of leads from investors, sellers, partners, etc.If I was doing it for houses, I'd do the same thing, just work on the leads.

I have to flip an entire house to make $12k, but an agent makes that in a couple hours without having to leave their home?!?!

Here’s the context:The house appears vacant, with a large tree that has fallen on the property.From what I can see, the house seems full of furniture and might even be a hoarder home.I’ve skip-traced the property and found that the owner has unfortunately passed away.The house seems to be mortgage-free, and I’ve identified three phone numbers associated with the son, who I believe is the heir.I’d like to reach out to the son to express my interest in purchasing the property, but I want to ensure I do so respectfully while also gathering the right information.Here are my questions:What’s the best way to approach the heir while showing my condolences for their loss?

Unfortunately, it's now going to get more complicated:(There are two types of approaches PMCs use to bill for maintenance:1) In-house ServiceTechs on the payroll, so owners are billed for their time by the hour.While the labor charges above are useful, they don't cover the true costs a PMC incurs, like:- Payroll costs for FICA, Social Security, Medicare, etc. that typically add 25-40% to the hourly rate- Medical insurance costs for the worker- Payroll processing costs to handle all of the above- Liability insurance costs in case worker damages something or injures someone- Workman's Compensation insurance- Costs of vehicles and tools- and more...Typically the management contract will disclose the total hourly rate an owner will be charged.