They have to have an established contract with the bureaus in order to report.

Without a solid plan, fix & flips would be huge gamble.

Most gurus have their clients journey end the moment they send them the money, they join a facebook group - have overseas VA;s moderate it and provide some old videos that get repurposed.Those who are new and thinking they are creative typically get crushed as they are gambling not investing.

Also, in regards to a per diem, I'd like to be a bit more optimistic that I can establish the right checks and balances to ensure that the contractor is not skipping corners.

But before that you need to establish that you purchased it with an investment intent. 

Until you get better clarity on those answers, you are more likely gambling instead of investing.

I'm not saying you can't make a decent return on rentals - I and many others here have done great with it - but if you have a well-functioning, profitable business that you know, why would you gamble money into Memphis *******es, to put it bluntly? 

We help the wholesaler and establish a great connection and in turn they start bringing us deals & borrowers. 

Or should we just establish our LLC and get financing through a DSCR lender? 

One thing to take note of is that a lot of places that are established STR markets have regulations stating that you have to honor future bookings.