Otherwise -- if your $70k can net you better % gains after taxes/costs than your mortgage int -- let that interest ride and deploy the capital elsewhere.  

I graduated high school (2004) in the top 5% of almost 900 kids with nearly two years of college credits and a full ride scholarship to University of Florida.

If the property values in your market soften, if the tenant moves in and destroys it, fire, earthquakes, floods, hail, hurricane, another lock down requires you to keep a non-paying tenant - honestly anything - and my position in the property is at jeopardy.

Do you get it taken care of or let it ride? 

The inherited home is located just outside the downtown area, probably a 10 minute drive, or a short tram ride.  

(possibly in response to recession). ...it would be a really wild ride if we went from 3% mortgages, up to 6.5%, and back down to 3% in the matter of 6-24 months!

We feel the 7-10 year period will allow us to ride out whatever happens and then we can use the cashflow to buy more real estate whether it’s on sale or not.

You’re not going to mitigate all the same risks as with a fully licensed, and insured contractor and that’s ok, it’s the nature of the class you’re flipping or rehabbing and their associated margins Steve exactly what U have is owners wanting things done as cheap as possible.. most licensed bonded contractors simply are not going to work as cheap as most landlords want them to work for.. so in this case you have an unlicensed handyman doing work.. in our state you cant give a written bid without a license that would be contracting without a license and subject to fine.So what most do is simply micro manage the unlicensed contractor if price is the over riding goal.. if doing it correct with licensed insured bonded folks is the primary mission then the price would be different.. and for those folks at least the ones I work with.. we pay Zero up front. and we send out draws once a month if the job takes more than a month and pay on completed work. plus the contractors have their own accounts and they buy the materials not us.. but out in the mid west and other areas were there is simply not enough margin to hire the more expensive guys this is a necessary evil you have to deal with..  

With the break in weather tomorrow I'm going to dust the bike off and take a ride around the area to get a better sense of which areas feel safe vs those that do not.

Better to wait and get that deal than one that knocks you for a ride.