You would think with a fixed rate loan the COC would improve over time but the other expenses are so large that the COC stays about the same year 2 to year 5.

We do a pretty decent amount of land acquisition but we target specifically retail center points in rural areas.  

I currently have a 30-yr fixed rate mortgage on a single family home that is my primary residence.

I love the idea of fix & flip right now @Abigail King, especially right now here in Chicago and I am sure it is similar for you in central Illinois -- it's winter so there are way less buyers and if you can get under contract soon you can likely rehab over the winter months and hit the spring market!   

Investment Info:Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Then your strategy of offer full price and then negotiate down / what if they say we will fix the repairs then you would be forced to close and lose your EMDNot sure where you came up with this but many will view components of this as unethical and why investors get a bad rap from politicians

Did the POA confirm the interest rate, loan amount?

The key is to understand the capital stack, who is in line in front of you and what are their terms.The people who are getting burned may have known there was debt in front of them, but did they know it was short term or variable - did they know all the details to make a good judgment on the investment.If a property had 20 year fixed debt at 70% would you take that over 3 year debt on a variable rate at 50%? 

If you do, figure how many of these things you’d really fix, what that would cost, and how much of that you’re willing to cover.

Sometimes they find a renter that will sign a lease for a high amount only for the renter to default leaving the owner eating the vacancy.