I do not know how they are handling new customers verse the Midland existing customers.Regarding the customer service it seems the people I dealt with are still employed and only my "personal rep" as it were, was promoted and another took her place.

To get to the ARV of $250,000 , I am assuming as follow:Because you spent $15,000 in renovation, I am assuming you increased the Initial value of the property at 30,000 bringing it at $230,000Add a 8.69% home appreciation for one year $20,000Estimated Home Value After 1 Year:$250,000Refinancing Breakdown:New Home Value (Post-Appreciation): $250,000 New Mortgage Amount (80% LTV): $200,000 Existing Mortgage Balance after 12 months: -$158,035 Assuming 3 Months Interest Penalty for Breaking Existing Mortgage: - $2371Total Cash Pulled Out: $39,594, allowing you to recover to pay a portion of your initial investment of $63,548, leaving $ $24,015 in the deal.Many new investors mistakenly believe the BRRRR strategy ends after the cash-out.

There exists those of us that want a property in Costa Rica despite the issues we are discussing here.

Sounds like they are dumping a bad 1031 property into a REIT and spreading the financial burden upon existing REIT members. 

Because of this the supply is relatively low which means the ones that do exist tend to make good money, especially if you theme it toward bachelor/bachelorette parties.

The house I regret most for not getting it is this one,https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/N8064-975th-St-River-Fall...I was so close to getting it, but I chickened out because I have absolutely no idea how these houses even exist.

We were in a financial position where we could keep our existing home, upgrade, and purchase another home.

In a rare case, it could be the second lien that is forclosing meaning the first lane still exists, and you would be on the hook for that.

Our experience is that many lenders/servicer customer representatives may not know the protections that exist for those that want to put asset protection steps in place. 

This is literally the entire reason these companies exists - to get this stuff right.As for why, I have no idea why there has been an uptick.