But number two is more telling; did the mentoring company have reason to believe that a majority of the people it sold its mentoring service to AND performed the suggested activities would most likely fail.

....if not, I strongly suggest studying up on that topic.I'd also definitely suggest reading up on the risks of funding a rehab with credit cards--especially  if you've never done a rehab using credit cards, and especially if you don't have the cash reserves to stay afloat if things don't go according to plan. 

As far as a strategy goes, I would suggest leaning into your current skill set and knowledge to find an unfair advantage.

You'll get a lot of opinions on here, going both directions..Personally, I am ok with zero or little cash flow (but not negative) ONLY IF the asset will certainly appreciate nicely, and within a  period of 2-5 years (just my own rule)But I don't like the concept of having your other assets cover this one, each asset should stand on it's own.Just my $0.02....

What would you suggest? 

As the title suggests, I'll be living there, while renting out the bottom portion for income.

Would love to answer any questions  and take any suggestions

I would suggest you guys do not run the jobs yourselves, it opens you to to huge liability.

A friend even suggested friends/family raise for the investment, but since I've never done anything to this scale, it seems like a lot to take on on my own.

An agent from Columbus suggested I ask around, but I'm still learning about the RE agent rules.