We are coming down to get a feel for some neighborhoods we've been looking at moving too and don't really have too much planned so I thought it would be a great time to connect with some lenders, investors, contractors, and liked mind individuals while I'm there!

I have renovated with contractors and some DIY.

My general contractor told me to charge her a $400/month pet fee for four months –which would allow me to save up $1,600 to cover damages- and then give her 30 days notice in May when it will be warmer and faster to fill a unit.

rates are high, prices are high, good PMs and contractors are booked up and busy, and it's very tough to find good deals. 

When you go from a single family to a Duplex, it becomes "comercial" property and according to (Michigan) the local building dept, I had to hire contractors. 

Any contract or suggestion they give seems overpriced, whereas contracts/work I've found seems to be much more reasonable. 

You still need some money to cover part of the rehab until you get your first draw, and if you're a brand new investor you might not qualify for 100% LTC on your first deal, but if you can partner with someone with experience on their track record or can prove significant past contractor experience then we might go that high on your first deal. 

If it weren’t for some contractor issues, we would have netted around $60K, but it ended up closer to $45-50K (I don’t have the exact numbers on hand).

Contractors that specialize in ADUs are all over LA too (and here on BP).

Cost of rehab is a few months and around $10k I think — I'm waiting for contractors to look at the property to verify this for the things that I don't already have a good handle on the cost for.