Rabco is another pretty major metal building supplier that works on the east coast that might be a good group to talk with.

I have numerous Turnkey rentals that cash flow nicely.

I am a first time real estate investor who is looking to flip distressed houses in his local market, but I do not know if I should approach family friends, and other possible capital suppliers without a clear business strategy and understanding what kinds of homes are selling in my market.

It's hard work so its often an area where people give up and or take short cuts and that seems like exactly what happened here.The fact that the floor has been "refinished, stained, sealed" numerous times is not an issue because guess what....you can just sand through it all!

While I'm by no means an attorney, of which you should consult for advise, my experience and in talking with numerous real estate attorneys if you have a property in an LLC and you get sued, the party bringing the suit can look beyond the LLC and bring suit against you personally or the controlling members.

Its by far the best thing you can do in real estate tax wise is that 500k tax free we have done it numerous times on our CA and Or homes.. over the last 40 years not always 500k but some were and some were darn close..  

Knowing my numbers helped me pass on numerous properties throughout the process of finding this one.

There are numerous exceptions that limit the scope of the application of major provisions to certain landlord types.

Numerous people have posted recommending a rental(s) over a flip.

There are still properties that cash flow in Inglewood and I've recommended to numerous clients to invest here.