Last piece of advice is to surround yourself with quality service providers (real estate brokers, lenders, accountants, attorneys, PM's, Contractors, Insurance Brokers)., They will be instrumental to your business. 

I'm scared of how much my insurance will go up after the LA fires but there is a cap with CA regulations and also being dropped. 

With a private auction of an already foreclosed property, you will usually be allowed as part of the closing to have a title search done and to buy title insurance.

They have a ready made resource called "Commercial Agent" who does, literally, EVERYTHING a wholesaler says they can do BUT they are (a) licensed, (b) insured, (c)get's MORE for the seller, and (d) does all this for LESS. 

As you alluded to, sometimes a passive note investment purchased for monthly payments “goes south”, and becomes an active participation investment, with plenty of additional capital required for legal fees, forced place insurance, and property taxes.  

The landlord should be named on the tenant's insurance policy for additional protection and to assist with tracking compliance.

(gross rents $4900; 8% PM; mortgage+insur+taxes = $3600/mo).

Deduct NEW property taxes after you buyDeduct home insurance costsDeduct maintenance percentage, typically 10%Deduct vacancy+tenant nonperformance percentage(we recommend 5% for Class A, 10% Class B, 20% Class C, good luck with Class D)Deduct whatever dollar/percentage of cashflow you wantNow, what you have left over is the amount for debt service.Enter it into a mortgage calculator, with current interest rate for an investment property, to determine your maximum mortgage amount.Divide the mortgage amount by either 75% or 80%, depending on the required down payment percentage - this is your tentative price to offer.If the property needs repairs, you'll want to deduct 110%-120% of the estimated repairs from this amount.Be sure to also research the ARV and make sure it's 10-20% higher than your tentative purchase price.As long as the ARV checks out, this is the purchase price to offer.It is probably significantly below the asking price.

Specifically:Licensed and Insured Contractors:Strong experience in fix-and-flip projects is preferred.Proven track record for meeting deadlines and staying within budget.Interested in building a long-term working relationship.Real Estate Agents:Knowledgeable about properties in Chattanooga and surrounding areas.Skilled in identifying high ROI opportunities for fix-and-flip projects.Open to partnering with an investor for repeat business.If you or someone you know is a great fit, please comment below or send me a direct message.

When you move forward, they should provide proof and name you additional insured.