You may have to work for free or at low cost to the small company, as they will be very sensitive to cash flow and costs.Get a mentorThis is the single most important part of the advice in this article.

Forgive me for not understanding this difference...Also, I'm sorry if you think this is shameless self-promotion and can see how you would view it that way, but perhaps you're zeal to prevent marketing can sometimes interfere with informational exchanges and my thought is that it is perhaps a touch overly sensitive, but I will certainly keep that in mind on further posts, thank you for the advise.

It would be nice to know if there is a downward pricing trend going on ... once I sink my teeth into something I go fast so I don't want to go TOO fast if it looks like we're in a down trend.

I recommend building your own as well.One thing to consider once you build a calculator is to do sensitivity analysis.

And if you're a newb still cutting your teeth, it may be 5x as much drain on your time, attention and energy as a single home.

Regardless of the system they are temperature sensitive, so you have to treat them like a computer.

With these types of sales, negotiating is like pulling teeth.

Do you mind sharing specific/rough pricing for such calls: 1) small things like a drywall patch, 2) to bigger things like a furnace/water heater repair, 3) time-sensitive things like a burst pipe or water-heater out, 4) anything else. 

Personally I like the low risk approach to a local house hack, cutting your teeth, so to speak before looking out of state.

If it has no "teeth" for damage, it's going to get very hard used.