While the 1% rule might be difficult to achieve, appreciation and a livable flip might make sense for your goals.Greenville SC: This market has seen significant appreciation and demand over the last few years.

My goal is to achieve a good cash flow and rent out properties for a long time.

You could also put 25% down and buy down the interest rate to achieve the same.

An 800 credit score it achievable as I have had one for years but I will say maintaining it while doing real estate has been a challenge only because when taking out mortgages they show up as hard inquires which impacts your score.Number one thing is to not miss or be late on any payments. 

Although I am outside of my comfort zone and feel like an absolute tool (I'm lost and that's uncomfortable), my faith, drive, and want to achieve my family and life goals continues to motivate me to get outside of my comfort zone and push for continuous improvement.  

It's not my area of expertise and believe those who focus on this line of work on a day to day basis will attract buyers and achieve a 2.5-3% better result than if I were to do this on my own.

For example, with the numbers you mentioned and at 3 months seasoning, you can get 75% of 250k which would allow you to get all of the purchase and renovation costs after the refinance.If you are looking to get the purchase and renovation costs back within 12 months, you would want to look for a lender/broker that can achieve this with short seasoning period.

The turnaround time should be in your agreement so they have priced things accordingly to achieve what it is you need.

The definition of a good deal is essentially buying right for what you're trying to achieve.

Where I would ultimately like to end up is with multiple properties that I rent out, even on an international level, as I love to travel.In order to achieve my goal: What strategies could you all recommend?