Some of the materials we choose and asked him to pick up (such as flooring) he replaced with low quality materials, I assume to keep more of our money for himself. 

I forget; it was payment processing related) that required me to have a website for the business.

Quote from @Briley Roe:  yes those fees are very high as you have a broker fee and other fees for a loan little over $100k at 6+ points. 

He told me he owned a few mobile home parks in town (they were large and had high lot fees) and this is what sparked my curiosity.

Also, providing value to others at a high level will pay off for you in the end if you stick with it.

BiggerPockets also has a calculator to analyze deals, and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy.

Contractors, unless you have a working relationship with them, normally do not want you bouncing ideas off them.Understand what their hourly rate is, have a discussion with them that you are okay with paying them an hourly rate if they walk the property with you and provide you a scope of work along with an explanation of what you can/can't get away with in regards to improvements.ask them if you go with them, if they can credit you the amount that you paid.Once you develop a working relationship with a few contractors, you can bounce ideas off them and expect quality responses.I do not invest in New York.Best of luck. 

Some lenders even do as high as 1.3.

Leveraging our market connections, we identified the property’s potential and negotiated favorable terms directly with the seller, securing it at a highly competitive price.

Hey Andrew, welcome to the Forums.That’s awesome you’ve been learning about real estate since high school—starting early will really pay off.