I financed it through a private lender.

If that is you, stop all of it and spend at least one hour every day looking at deals during the week and 5 hours on the weekend driving around and looking at listings and neighborhoods!

Is 1.3 usually what you see with those smaller private sized projects?

I go to a meet up in San diego called private lending masters.  

You might be unrealistic on what you have to spend, or you're looking at the wrong types of deals. 

It might be more that you are willing to spend to get a good place.

A real estate pro is spending their time in real property business.

It can be used as a 4/2 with a private attached studio, or as 4 room rentals with a separate studio (which is what we currently do) or as a 5/3 SFH. 

We've had it happen before, nothing major, but just some extra money we weren't originally planning on spending to turn a unit. 

Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies who spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away.