I'm up to speed on the new codes.

Looking for recommendations on experienced agents and mentors that can help me come up to speed on the market and start investing. 

INTROCraig (aka CDP) has managed renos and the contract process for both himself AND othersHis smart approach = limiting downside and learning from the pastCDP writes down all mistakes to learn from for next timeGENERAL CONTRACTOR BIDDING PROCESSGet multiple bids & compare, and ask for line-by-line proposalsCan have two out of three, but not all → (1) Quality (2) Speed (3) Low CostIncent project completion via an end balloon payment (typically in 10% range)Don’t do cost-plus, instead provide max price for material/parts…keeps costs downGC should get multiple bids for all sub-vendor work, ensuring optimal pricingEnsure GC keeps good records for future auditsHire structural engineer for changes to things like load-bearing walls, etcCONTRACTINGGCs mostly require their standard template.

Sounds like you are moving full speed ahead!

Any hard evidence that staging helps with sales price or speed of sale?

I have one that when the tenant turns it on, it starts very slow and finally gets up to a decent speed but not as fast as the one that runs in the other non-Master bedroom.I'm looking to buy another one.

That said, I'd never sign something like that up front without knowing how they communicate, their speed of response, etc.

It'll take a few weeks/months to get up to speed, but there is no substitute for learning when it comes to this business if you plan to succeed in this business.

This is a great way to speed up your process of elimination and it's FREE!  

Loans do not move at light speed so I think it is relatively easy to stay a couple steps ahead of them.