So glad to have the first one under my belt.

That is where a good GC comes in, we are quality men and whistle blowers for the customer.

I'm an equity partner on four different apartment complexes and have learned a lot from talking with and observing the lead investor (i.e. syndicator) about raising capital and investor relations by being in those deals.If you are fortunate enough to find a mentor, it would be wise to find someone with integrity, who has multiple SUCCESSFUL deals under their belt and believes in consistent and clear communication with their investors. 

Other than that, it's a very landlord friendly state, rents are on the low side but price points are perfect for a new investor to get into versus say the west coast or sun belt.

For instance, should I base it on a dollar amount per hour I work on the project, either as a PM or as a guy who actually puts on the tool belt?  

Or, are we more of a thorn in their side until we have a few more deals under our belt?

I suspect after you have a few under your belt you'll find that you're able to be more flexible.

It isn't practical to find "affordable" GCs, at least we've not been able to in our rust belt market, where home prices are way below national average.

I plan on getting licenced during some downtime from school just to have it under my belt.

PS  my Detroit section 8 folks were not the easiest .. compared to the bible belt..