Here's what I gleaned as a summary of hardening tips for reducing turnover/maintenance costs:panasonic bath fans with timers in bathrooms4 coats of poly on wood floorsdouble door stopstile floors, showers vs surroundssingle lever shower valve vs. doublereplace toilets with steel parts/mechanicals whenever it starts to runKwikset smart keys (some debate over efficacy)door stoppers on all hingesremove pop-up drains and replace with commercial drains2' drain lines from sinks with an accessible clean outbuy a key cutter - maker for $50 on craigslistGranite tile counters - need a diamond polisher and tile sawUsed Fixed vs. friction shower rodsKeyed deadbolt and passage knob on outside doors to prevent accidental lockout5/8' fire core drywall - can't put a fist thru it and its fire-resistant1/4" board to back up towel rodspolyurethane cabinets under sink to pre seal and drain water to the floor2x4 base under cabinets to prevent particle board cabinets from failing where they meet the floorVinyl scrap under sink and up the back wallBest of luck!

Not sure if there are diamonds in the rough but I'm going to find out.So, all that said, is the goal of $0 to $1K per month in six months doable?

Until then check out the NEREIA in Chelmsford and the Black Diamond meeting in Waltham.  

The trick is finding that diamond. 

Do you not like to get your hands dirty and just want to find diamond in the rough properties for other investors to buy and get paid a finders fee?

Others are diamonds in the rough which can get a good cosmetic reno and after Refi, produce a good COC return. 

I personal favorite is the Black Diamond meeting in Waltham (Alternates every month with their Worcester location, next Waltham one is July) and they draw well from both sides of the city so you can make NH and Cape connections there.

@Patrick Diamond, I don't know if this doable (legally), but if your plan is to eventually buy other properties to rehab and sell to people who'd like to own a vacation rental where you (ideally) manage the property, could you put out feelers for those people now, having them invest in the first house with an agreement that when it's refinanced their investment (plus interest) will be used to buy their own?

I wish we can stop throwing salt around because we not knowledgeable, Wendy Patton, Michael Carboneau, Joe McCall, Claude Diamond as well as Mr.

There are many networking events around us including ARIEA's, various Meetup's and the Black Diamond event in Waltham.