The customer signs our contract , we get 1 /3 down .Now people tend to thing thats for materials , thats partially right , First it secures you a time frame , if you cancel we keep the deposit as liquidated damages .

So I don’t tend to use the appraisal on this property as an example of what is normal for my deals.

They tend to stay to themselves, not a lot of company or complaints. 

I made a ton of mistakes but real estate tends to be pretty forgiving.

But if you’re willing to put in the work it does tend to make significantly more than LTR.

In my area (near the beach) its mostly families and they want cabanas, baby items, chairs, coolers etc that we do not provide but I have a local vendor that delivers and picks up these items and charges a few dollars per day for each item, and give me a 20% referral. 

Post on local Facebook pages for contractor referrals, go to local REIAs, and ask your potential agents and PMs (even if not using a PM at first...you may at some point).There is only so much that service providers can do and many of them are far from "experts"; so, be prepared to be your own expert at being willing to figure stuff out as you move forward.

I understand most of their mentees come by referral, which says a lot about them - though I too found them on Craigslist.So, the four of them, plus their support staff and "volunteer" co-mentors is all they use to teach, demonstrate, mentor and coach. 

People who are involved in anything tend to have an overinflated sense of self, ego and importance.

Please and advice or a referral for someone would be fantastic!