It's now almost impossible to get a mortgage with a FICO score under 560-580 range.Overall, the housing market has higher average FICO scores and more equity than the 2008-2010 period.This makes it much less likely we'll experience another Great Recession, but there are no guarantees.

If anyone has experience with their lead quality, conversion rates, or overall value, I’d love to hear your insights.

Has anyone else had similar experiences with BTRs?

She has quite a bit of experience regarding investment real-estate purchases.

Figure out a question set that helps dive into their expertise as investor-friendly agents, ask about their experience in the investment real estate space, and have them send you a few properties that could meet your goals to show that they can provide quality properties for your to analyze (hint: this is also good to see if they overpromised on their market [ex - Raleigh for cash flow]).Also with the new lawsuit, any agent that knows what they're doing will require you to sign an agency agreement prior to viewing a home.

Also just look online and steal some ideas...I used to Google Luxury Kitchens and then figure out how to do the same for less $$.You'll be fine with your experience.

Nobody ever went broke over a duplex, I know this now,  but I have to admit I had some serious doubts about this when I started 16 years ago, I bought every course I could find, already on CD's, this was post cassette tapes lol, and I paid RichDad Education for a one year coaching program (turned out my coach was a girl in a call center without any actual experience). 

At this time the primary goal is passive income and then scale within 5 years as I gain more experience and network. 

I look forward to reading more of your experiences.  

This experience proves that even with challenges, strategic renovations and persistence can lead to a profitable outcome.