Making a larger down payment can improve your loan terms, but keeping some cash reserves is also crucial for unexpected expenses and future investments.

Since it is your first deal, some things to consider before acquiring would be:- Have you underwrote to account for unexpected expenses?

It’s a 2006 home so no crazy unexpected issues.  

Keep them updated on the project's progress, especially if you encounter any unexpected issues or delays.- Consider using hard money loans as a bridge to longer-term financing if you're planning to keep the property as a rental.

There is a cost component.

And they bring a lot of business experience that I would value, as there is an active component to the property that will need to be managed.   

It simply takes more knowledge to be able to consistently have positive outcomes flipping homes, and buying a property that has unexpected expenses can quickly tank a project. 

I feel like I must be missing some key components in my analysis of the property. 

I have just enough to complete everything, but don't want to strapped for cash in case something unexpected happens until I can finish renovating and get the property cash flowing again. 

Done properly, an investment made today should have “priced in” the factors the were previously unexpected and resulted in trouble.