Except instead of spending a fortune you’re building wealth.

I'd be more concerned about them spending $10K each month (if they have $10K coming in and then a zero balance). 

Short of spending several years building experience with smaller deals, what would the folks on this board recommend?

So I get you should get a refinance or quote before you purchase a property so how would you know how much to spend on the house?

I, like many used to think “newbies” posted questions or asked for “help” to obtain the best advice from experienced investors, obtain guidance on strategic alternatives, or get a qualified opinion on whether the latest hot guru was worth the $40k price of admission.But, I was WRONG.No, none of those reasons are why newbies come to BP.They don’t want to find out that their “revelation” about how to invest has been tried about 10 million times - with limited successThey don’t want to learn that without capital, knowledge and experience their willingness to commit weekends is near uselessThey don’t want our opinion that they should skip trying to wholesale and spend some time learning as a licensed agentThey don’t want advice that has them taking classes at community colleges or learning real estate law, finance, or principles.So WHAT do they seek when they come to BPThey want comfort, encouragement. and to be told their thoughts are correct.

It takes money to invest, so spend this time working hard and saving like a mad man while living off your parents for free.Educate.

Quote from @Matthew Paul: Earn more money , spend more money .

I have one tenant who on paper takes in more than enough money to cover rent, but she's always having problems because in her words, if she has the money in the bank, she spends it.

They'd rather hear that spending $1500 +++ per month on marketing and committing valuable time will lead to closing flips earning net profits of $50k - 150k per deal, even if it absolutely ridiculous.Can SOMEBODY make $50,000, $150,000 or $1 million per deal on a quick flip in real estate; SURE they can, the higher amounts are rare, but do happen.  

In December, my wife and I bought an old 1984 3/2 split level home with a walkout basement in a great area of Raleigh NC and spent the next 5 months renovating it, spending a little over $40k and pouring every ounce of energy and time we had into it.