I can only produce about 2  houses a month and out of 90 so far I have only had to hold 5 or so past C of O they all got sold either pre sale or right before we finished..

A home inspection produced 50 issues that needed attention.

On my end, I would never purchase a property that won't produce at lease 1k in net cash flow, and it must be in a desirable area that is expected to appreciate.

Tying up a distressed sellers property then not producing any results for them can lead to the property being foreclosed on and the seller being seriously hurt financially. 

So after a long and healthy Tech career I thought it was time for a change.

Fixing a class B doesn't produce amenities that Class A offers, otherwise you're losing sq ft if you add a gym/shower, etc.Anyway, happy to get updates, but I think your leasing will be at 0 for 12 months.

I definitely recommend that you seek out a Certified Cost Segregation Professional so that you are confident in the quality of the work performed and the deliverables produced.

I claimed for years 1) initial cash flow and cash flow over a long hold have a poor coupling 2) that I would purchase a property with negative initial cash flow.  3) I cared about total return and did not give a $hit about cash flow if the other returns produce an outstanding return 4) that cash flow is my least favorite return because it gets taxed annually. 

A healthy dose of skepticism is good, but usually they want you to have the best experience possible.

If he has the income to support a $550k mortgage, and a healthy cash reserve fund, he should invest the money.