As Alex mentioned (thanks Alex), I run the Santa Barbara meetup.

Not to mention the tax benefits it allows. 

They allow you to include up to 6 months of rent payments in the loan if you are unable to occupy the premises during the renovation.Just to be complete, it's also worth mentioning that both the VA and USDA have renovation loans.

Now, if you listen carefully you will find that he too found some of the same things that others mentioned...no deals in Austin, prices were too high...but then he adjusted his approach and nailed it!

It's worth mentioning I also require tenants to have their own renters insurance policy with at least 100k minimum liability.

So, they can markup what they paid out and keep the difference.Most PMC industry software has these two options built in.So, it's just a matter of understanding how your PMC is marking up maintenance and not expecting it to be for free.Regarding the specific charges you mentioned - there has to be some level of trust with your PMC. 

my condolences on your recent lost.there are a few ways you can do this, as mentioned above you can take a heloc on your primary residence which will give you a second mortgage, first mortgage payment wont be impacted. you can do cash out refinance which will give you one mortgage and payment. it will pay the old mortgage and give you money in your pocket to pay for the rehab.or you can do a renovation refinance which is similar to cash out refinance but we would contractor involved  as part of the refinancing and they are paid through the loan

As everyone has mentioned being proactive before your property sells will be important. 

Like some others mentioned, he is very much like Seth. 

Quote from @Celli Mowery: Hi Jamesinteresting message -I know I’ve seen your name often on the Bluegrass Investors GroupI have spent the last 5 years investing in London and while some of the concerns you mentioned did exist when we started I’m finding we haven’t had issues with tradesmen coming from Lexington & Richmond for us in recent years.