We did a little extra too, adding recessed lighting in the living room, painted the kitchen cabinets, added a 30’x30’ deck, landscaping work (still needs a little more this spring but we plan to do it).We bought it for $160,000.

Assume that you will need at least 20% plus some extra for fees.  

It may sound nice to pay a 5% management fee but the extra fees can add up to be more than the other company that charges 10% with no add-on fees.

A neighbor who has the same size duplex gets about $1800/month for one unit and does STR in the extra bedroom in her unit and is able to cover her mortgage completely.  

We were on our way to tour another property and we had some extra time so we went by this property.

It could be renting out the extra bedroom to a friend, etc.If you can't yet qualify for a loan, and let's say you are renting a home/apartment from someone, and you had an extra bedroom, you could ask your landlord if it'd be OKAY to rent out the extra bedroom to someone, while you live there as well.But if you could get someone to help you get a loan to begin with, I think living in a duplex or a home and renting out the other sides or bedrooms, would be a GREAT way to get started.For now, dig into all the awesome resources on this side and LEARN as much as possible!

I wouldn’t ever pay extra for better cabinets or special color countertops.

Do I need to have an extra LLC to conduct REO Transaction?

I want to also do some renovations and make the downstairs basement extra room and turn it into a room by adding a wall and closet.

It may sound nice to pay a 5% management fee but the extra fees can add up to be more than the other company that charges 10% with no add-on fees.