They have been floating along the river enjoying the views and pretending the crocodiles aren't circling the boat!

Don't pretend to be anything you are not.

Question 1: What loan - you didn't specify you had a loan in your example.Making assumptions, using your example, and pretending you put 20% ($5k) down on the home and have an original $20k loan:Fix up house, house now worth $50k. 6 months - 1 year from now cash out refinance. 75% of value = $37,500 loan, $12,500 left behind as equity in the house.

Pretend I'm placing it in the market place and you were the buyer, what would you want to be told?

I do management myself now.I once had a PM company manage a 4-unit, and they didn't give a crap about renting the place out. and when they did rent it out, they would still pretend it wasn't rented, and pocket the rent themselves, AND charge me maintenance fees.They screw both ends- the renters and the owners.

They have lost the SEO battle and have been buried by IDX vendors pretending to be the actual MLS.

For now Pretend no debt is owed.

Pretend you want a place to rent in the area.

I won't pretend I know what the market is like in the Midwest, but with rising interest rates, it will be important to make this a point of consideration if you plan on unloading the asset in the next few years. 

The value of the property is fairly easy to establish, the problem arises when the assessor is pretending a property is worth $80,000 that today is worth $30,000.