That can include roof, water heater, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, mold, rot, warped floor boards, bad foundation, termites, sink holes, fascinating animal occupants, bad reputations (that was a drug house or had a fire or was used for other things that I don't want to mention), and so on.

Drive to MIT walk in and ask to speak with the professor of computer science and ask which student is the best programmer and hire that student, you will also have more power to negotiate because students are broke and they will do anything to get money so you will save.3: I would implement a map where I can see all the properties in the area and I would have filters in place so I can see what I want from comps, to prices, etc I would STUDY my competitors and take everything they have and create an all in one app.

I come from a data science background, so I'm accustomed to creating models to derive the incremental ROI of each variable.I hear some people saying "get the $10,000 hot tub", and I get that, especially if it's a "table stake" that your property needs just to be considered by guests.However, when thinking about less standard amenities, like putting greens, gaming rooms, billiard tables, pool toys, etc. what tools or methods do y'all use to evaluate if a given idea will deliver a positive ROI?

I've been doing my own taxes for years and can tell you that a couple single-family rentals on your Schedule E is not rocket science.   

You probably don't really need a mentor, for a few apartments, it's not rocket science, I'm feeling it's reluctance and looking on the other side of the hill at what you believe might be greener pastures, they may not be as green as you think.I got bored easily too, I'd find some niche, get that down, get bored and move on to a different aspect, just because it was more fun.

There is a little science behind the up front processing to avoid UW issues.At the end of the day Vacation homes can still be rented out so it offers a 2 sided coin. 

Thank you for reading and I look forward to interacting with you all to gain more knowledge about this fascinating world of real estate investing!

1st off- Kudos for your enthusiasm to tackle a difficult problem; adopting new materials and building science understanding on really old structures.Success levels for energy retrofitting will be directly tied to the level of "gutting" you do to the old house, especially trying to add a vapor design and passive ventilation retrofit. 

Per this NY Times article, the average American knows around 600 people.https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/science/the-average-american-knows-how-many-people.html#:~:text=The%20average%20American%20knows%20about,do%20you%20know%20named%20Kevin%3FPer the US Census Bureau, the average American moves 11.7 time in their life, which based upon an approximate lifespan of 84 years, works out to be about every 7 years.https://www.census.gov/topics/population/migration/guidance/calculating-migration-expectancy.html#:~:text=Using%202007%20ACS%20data%2C%20it,one%20move%20per%20single%20yearSo, if the average American knows 600 people and they each move about every 7 years, that means that the average American knows around 85 people that move in any given year.How many of those moves do you want to be involved in?

Their data science crew determined it was a glitch on their end and apologized.