If it's not you - you are going to be paying contractors (most likely) retail repair rates - and with the prices of housing (even dilapidated housing) pretty high right now - I would say that flipping is not the easiest "in" to the market.  

A typical five-piece surround is held together with glue and caulk, and without maintenance, it will fall apart and just cause you more problems.Instead, go ahead with a two-piece surround or even a tile surround.

This being said, I don't believe we'll be able to meet the income requirements to qualify for a conventional.This leads me to believe hard money or private lender is more the only option to get my foot in the door, use my business to make repairs at very good rates, build some equity then refi once the balloon is due. 

It was a pain, but in the end, I came out ahead as there are rent caps in the area and got good tenants. 

Best of luck—sounds like an exciting journey ahead!

. - This will allow low down payment and the 203(k) allows repairs to be financed into the purchase mortgage.- The 203(k) will allow you to bid on properties that need repairs that won't qualify for a traditional mortgage => less competition => better purchase price.You will need to find a great local contractor you can trust to supply the required bids to qualify for the 203(k).- After closing, you can do some of the work yourself to save money, but the program doesn't allow you to pay yourself.You will want to buy a Class B property, maybe Class C+, in an area that seems to be improving.

That said there are some nuances and requirements to property implement interest tracing so ensure you talk to your tax professional ahead of time and keep the funds movement as clean as possible. 

If you look at Australia and the UK, these integrated services models have been taking off and in general, those two counties remain ahead of the US in professional services evolution! 

Being able to A/B test MTR at the same time would allow you to know if you can convert the STR to MTR if you ever want to move out and keep the property.As for the net negative house hacks - I always like to remind people that shy away from a deal because they aren't making money that they are usually still coming out ahead if they are spending the same or less than they would on rent.Great last point.

It's what you paid, minus the value of the land, plus what you spent on long term repairs (roof, furnace, etc.