Hey @Leeling Chew,Thanks for sharing all of this and I'm sorry this has all transpired for all parties involved.

If you are considering something like this get a lawyer involved to help guide you as this isn't entry level stuff.

If you're a dead set on being a passive investor, it may take you longer than if you view it as a business and you are involved in it day to day but that's just a guess.

Involving a seller, a buyer, and an end-buyer?

There is so much complexity and risk involved.  

The on-island local contact doesn’t have to be a licensed real estate professional, unless he/she is also involved in real estate activities, like renting or offering to rent the property.And I've had at least one client do cost seg - if you'd like a couple referrals, you're welcome to contact me directly. 

This one is a bit more involved and I might make a separate post to get more feedback:Let's say before I purchase any house, I have a combined DTI with my wife of 13% (Assuming gross income is used to calculate DTI).

I have a great lender locally that is a pleasure to work with, but ran into a situation recently that involved an unfavorable appraisal.

Both of those models involve potentially comprehensive rehab to make a good return and new investors often hire the wrong people and spend way too much.Higher returns on her money can be found in debt fund syndications which are totally passive and can pay 12%.

We were particularly interested in this deal because it involved a light rehab, which is less complex and time-consuming compared to more extensive renovations.