We were not able to recover any yard damages due to other damages they had left that needed repair, which empted out their security deposit.

Regardless, you might find the copy & paste info below helpful:)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Does Hard Money typically cost 30-40% of the purchase price?? 

True, but (a) they were typically experienced investors, and (b) today's market includes record prices and high mortgage rates, which is a double whammy. 

They'd be much better off being a Hard Money Lender and make 5 times that (and every repair to their "investment house" is paid by them...So, if you put $10k down on a property and make $150/month net cash flow your Coc Return (annualized) is 18% which is Very Good.If you followed that and understand it then keep looking for a deal.

Legal Protection – It's important to have a solid contract in place, typically a promissory note and a security agreement that outlines the loan terms, interest rates, repayment schedules, and collateral (often the property being financed).

@David F.As Russell mentioned co-ops are probably 1/2 the price of a condo and you would also have extensive costs to set up a co-op and typically it’s my understanding the builder funds the first 1-2 years of reserves.

The properties that I like the best are typically in the B/B- neighborhoods.

Investors typically want to stay within the original budget.The only way to do this is to stick to the plan and avoid COs!

These structures are significantly more complicated than a typical 1031 Exchange structure and there are inherent risks involved in the transaction, some of which are discussed below.