@Phillip Austin someone who obviously should not rent but buy themselves a brand new house. what was their previous place?  

@Aaron Zimmerman and clarify, I am the marketer, my husband designs lighting.

Functionally, it operates as a 2-story home since the downstairs area has multiple windows in each room and plenty of natural light.

I don’t think the competition in the smoky is light.

You are better off finding a solid property that needs light cosmetic work (paint, floors, or maybe even a kitchen or bathroom remodel), buy it at a decent discount and put 25% down or more (this is when you get best rate terms). 

On paper, it looked brilliant..cheap money, quick turnaround, and a profit projection that made his eyes light up.It taught me that the real risk isn’t just the cost of capital, it’s the predictabilty of your exit strategy.

There is a company names Hemlane that offers that "light PM" service that may be interesting for you instead of a full blow PM company that may cost 7-10% of revenues.

All of the above and there are many discussions and mathematical gymnastics that are in these forums that prove it works and doesnt work in both ways...consider a first position heloc if you want to utilize velocity banking concepts for mortgage purposes.I got one with CMG mortgage (they call it the All in One Loan) and it put me in positive light. 

Ask your contractor to walk the property with you if they're available during the showing, or at least send them the photos and information that you received from the wholesaler to get their opinion.In Pittsburgh a light or cosmetic renovation is about $20k, medium is $50k, and a full gut is $100k.

Fire pit with string lights is very popular.