I finished a rehab in March, and some of my quotes for work today are nearing double what I paid 4 or 5 months ago, which was effectively double what I paid for work at the beginning of COVID.Clearly, labor costs are rising across the board, but my friends that work at a large enough scale at least have salaried tradesman on their payroll, so it is a little easier to control that cost, versus subbing everything.

Most experienced and sophisticated investors will look at these numbers and say that the margins are far too thin, and suggest that you walk away from this "deal."

Again, the sophisticated buyer gets the deal first and then explores the mortgage product 2nd.

Being C-corp is good when adding shareholders or selling company in my opinion.I like the standard LLC just because you don't have to worry about the double tax or payroll.

Do I pay the same amount in tax if I have it deducted from my W2 payroll (paid in pretax) compared to paying taxes at the end of the year?

For myself it will depend heavily on the sophistication of the client - I have a number that I would never bother asking them for various statements to tie out to their financials or supporting statements for standard accruals since they have a full accounting department responsible for their financials and reconciling their accounts.  

I cut the excessive expenses such as payroll and overspending on materials and vendors.

Generally, mom/pop landlords are less sophisticated and don't set-up NNN leases.

The problem is that if you find one that is willing to lend $3M on your deals, they are going to be sophisticated enough to understand the value of their money.

On larger deals management payroll and management fees are both property expenses that would be taken out before any splits.