No sure about that as buyers want to see the finished product and showing them before pictures will often not be well received.That's funny, my wife said the exact same thing about showing them the before pictures. 

My experience with PPR has been consistent with yours, as well as the search to find them.  

DealMachine and direct mail can work well, but consistency is key.

You HAVE to allow pets.

I want to be a investor buying and holding as well as fix an flips.

You will also quickly learn how to manage properties well instead of spending decades figuring it out like most investors.

Yea they would keep that in place and you'd get a second position mortgage for the rest at, well, higher than todays rates.

Also, how to get an LVP that will wear well, for cheap?

Hey Themis - I used a similar strategy in my first year investing in Cleveland, focusing on the BRRRR method with SFRs, and it worked well.

For reference, we're heavily involved in the co-living space, which is an unorthodox strategy but can perform exceptionally well with the right property and systems in place.