I'm thinking 25,000 in material costs for me to do the work.

Call the city planning department, tell them you need a curb cut and find out what the requirements are to get the curb cut and what materials are allowed for a driveway.  

I haven't found it necessary to self-promote, as my reputation precedes me, and I'm noticing for the first time this year I am getting a fair amount of traffic via referrals from other tenants prior to posting any ads.

I am looking into his stuff as well as the material that Paul Moore/Al Williamson does with AirBNBs.

However, you already gave him money that he spent and does not have to pay for the materials on your job.

I did a remodel on one of them when I first bought it - did everything myself - Home Depot quality materials - and did it for about $6k.

You need to know what you value in your current situation.Values such as: Price for quality in labor and material, or If holding costs are an issue perhaps duration to completion.As far as quality goes, do you want the 'Best of the Best'(out of your options) for your investment, or is mid-range quality OK.

Although I'm not promoting myself as an educator and do not provide any formal curriculum or program, I do foster a "learn by doing" experience from the nature of the JV relationshipI hope this helps to answer your question about the motivation from the experienced investor side.Bob***Moderator note that this reply is to respond to the poster's question and not intended to be a promotion of any of kind***

Doesn't necessarily need to be something monetary but even the possibility of hiring them for your properties could be value.After a couple times of doing these, you'll have a better understanding of the process... but there will still be variables (labor, materials, your exit strategy also carries weight as well, whether you're going to fix-and-flip to a retail buyer or rent it out.)

These agencies have specific directives as government backed entities, one of which is to promote home ownership (as opposed to commercial lending).