Hey @Brad Roche - We do a significant amount of renovation loans (both Fannie May & FHA) here in Chicago and prefer the Homestyle loan only because it's less stringent on the borrow about what they have to repair, and they provide the general contractor a material draw at closing which helps the project start on the right foot.I thought the minimum down payment was 5%.

Contractors can give you ballpark quotes on the spot, which will tighten up your budget.

I am very interested to start investing in Fort Wayne too, would love to connect with investors / realtors / property managers / contractors / any one in Fort Wayne! 

If you’re set on a duplex with minimal rehab, an investor focused agent should have a strong network of contractors who can give you quick quotes, so you don’t wind up with any pricey surprises.

Is it wrong they tell the investors if asked to say they are "partners", or "contractors" just bidding the job? 

They also need to have a reliable contractor that knows how to price and work on rentals.  

I should have mentioned that I am out of state in Colorado and I'm not connected yet to contractors that I trust to do a rehab.

(that means I work for Airbnb as an independent contractor, a paid, by Airbnb, consultant to new Hosts).Here is my "tip" that I send to new Hosts:"Pricing is key and worth doing some homework.

I've got a good amount of contractors I use for our long term buy & holds with heavy reno's up front. 

my condolences on your recent lost.there are a few ways you can do this, as mentioned above you can take a heloc on your primary residence which will give you a second mortgage, first mortgage payment wont be impacted. you can do cash out refinance which will give you one mortgage and payment. it will pay the old mortgage and give you money in your pocket to pay for the rehab.or you can do a renovation refinance which is similar to cash out refinance but we would contractor involved  as part of the refinancing and they are paid through the loan