I also caution in taking on more than double the rehab expense you've incurred in the past - especially with a property that isn't tenant friendly from a parking standpoint; it won't be long before the trekking tenant discovers that trolling for street parking isn't the cruise he signed up for and starts parking in the yard, squeezing in the driveway, or starts claiming defects with the property so he can terminate the lease. 

So she claims they’ve put a lien on her house.

Many times they will claim it's wonderful and then try to hide their worst deals by only showing completed deals.

This means that many insurers depreciate the cost of the asset and subtract that from the reimbursement for a claim as compared to just replacing the full cost.

totally hear you, pre 2021 in knoxville was a totally different ball game. again depending on your goals and strategies, your expectations aren't unrealistic. some deals may require more of an investment to make the numbers work like one of my student rentals that was a full gut project and took nearly a year to complete yet it spits out 15% cash on cash returns annually and i purchased that late 2022. investing in general is a risky endeavor, it's all relative to ones own risk tolerance depending on their position. we try and make calculated risks and look to evaluate multiple exits before pulling the trigger, yet there is still some risk involved. maybe a reit or syndication is the way to go if you want to be in real estate yet don't want to take on the properties yourself. either way i'm happy to make some local connections. 

They claim to use the method of teaching that uses hard money loans to find your property, improve then rent.

Be very weary of anyone claiming that and then asking you to send application fees and such to them.To operate in FLA as a flipper where you are buying distressed at 250k+ you better have 100k - 150k liquidity at all times.I am doing a refi for someone on an STR in Miami right now. 

The IRS cross-references your 1098s with claimed deductions, raising concerns if discrepancies arise.Private Lenders and Forms 1098: Private lenders are required to send Forms 1098, but only if they meet specific criteria:The private lender operates as a “trade or business,” distinguishing professional lenders from casual lenders like friends or family members.The loan is issued to an individual or a disregarded single-member LLC.The loan is a mortgage secured by real property.The annual interest paid on the mortgage was $600 or more for the previous year.The conditions leave some room for interpretation, particularly regarding the “trade or business” clause.

The MO deal would have been hard pressed by the borrower to claim usury since she was a broker herself, she committed fraud by using a phony end buyer (her maiden name) and a phony escrow company.

Some insurance companies may deny a claim if they find out that work was done without any permits that are legally required.