When I started running the numbers he said I was "too high" and we could trim the fat and still make profit.

Think the college will go belly up, or will it be saved?

And regarding the Title for the property you're buying, the Lender you have the mortgage with will have put themselves in first position (thus retaining control over the Title), so that if everything goes belly up, so your folks for example, will not get any proceeds of the sale of your foreclosed property until all the Bank's debt is covered!

I think you said your going to the Vegas event I bet you will find just about all your contacts you need there as you work the room.. remember belly to belly ... not key board to key board  LOL

I would try to find a apartment complex where the average rent is lower, so around the $500-$800 mark, so if certain aspects of the market in that area go belly up, perspective tenants can still manage to occupy my units.

Plus the other people who are getting those deals ahead of time have fat pockets and can close with cash.

Had two with a control board that went belly up in my own home within 14-15 months after purchase.    

Thanks for the thoughts @Nathan Bell. I

I like that too because those are nice big fat proceeds  checks  they feel good.

If that is the case, then the number you can plug into your calculator for your labor is a big fat goose egg...and your profit calculation should reflect that.Therefore, what you are actually trying to add into the equation is an arbitrary number for "opportunity costs".