Anyone who has spent time in either of these cities since 2015+ has seen the tremendous amount of progress that has been made. 

We have spent approximately 500k in improvements on the land in the structures and the infrastructure.

.- Depends on what you're doing specifically, but usually I'd recommend getting an EIN at least to give access to business bank accounts- Repeating #1, if you're going to a property and 100% of your time is spent doing renovations and the like, sure, but if any of it is for personal benefit, that'd be disallowed.

Always have backup subs as well, and in my case I have spent time learning all the trades so in a bind I can fill in and get it done myself if I have to.

well once pandora's box has been opened like this it becomes out of investors control.

Over the years, I've spent thousands of dollars on probably 90% of the available list services.

I know it is 2023 and their are some people that hate using the phone and prefer the chat box, but I am not one of them. 

While I believe I operated with many of these strategies and tactics EVENTUALLY, I spent a long time “spinning my wheels” early on when trying to negotiate before establishing a rapport.  

In my state the standard contract used by realtors addresses this issue by allowing the agent to check a box specifically to limit the seller to keeping the EMD as opposed to going after "liquidated damages" like that.

Usually my time spent with newbies last a minimum of 1-2 hours on our first meeting (either in person or on the phone).