I kept hitting snags with getting a HELOC or regular loan in spite of excellent credit and savings because of debt to income (no W2 job), or the way property was held or described - so many little things you never think of! 

Excellent news!

@Chandler Mohr,@Brian Pulaski has an excellent point when saying that you can leave the seller in a more difficult position if you tie up their property and then don't perform. 

When we renovated the kitchen for the first time in about 40 years there was no special smell and we've ensured excellent ventilation with the reno.

Strong rental growth is one of the reasons why we believe Las Vegas is an excellent location to invest in at this time.

Maybe the most - or only - valuable thing I have to say is that a live-in flip has been an excellent intro for me, and I definitely learned a great deal that has only encouraged me to move forward. 

It's not about flipping houses but rather about excellence in building and it is masterfully put together and engaging if you're in to that sort of thing :) 

Many of us use Excel.

On another note, very impressed by @richie Thomas, excellent research, I’d keep his comments in mind. 

We have excellent credit and won't have any other debt besides a measly car loan.