The catch was that it would cost me $7k.

In any case, successful wholesaling REQUIRES the knowledge, experience, and ability to accurately estimate repair and rehab costs and time.  

Skip forming a corporation for now—it won’t protect you from personal loans, and it adds unnecessary costs.

Second thing would be to work with a contractor, this is great stuff to do since you know building a house, building material costs, and knowledge of right and wrong what to do. 

Most DSCR programs will want you to have owned the property for more than 6 months to allow you to use appraised value instead of cost.

Any tips on balancing renovation costs with tenant expectations when preparing a property for midterm stays?

I think its a scary feeling, like the cost of entry is too high.

So, we now find most areas where the cost of PM leaves but the general real estate passive investment ROI for the investor hiring property management.  

If loan balance is $300k and it's worth $400k and an equity partner puts $40k to bring it current then they have about 40% of equity in the property - now they would not take straight $40k as probably more costs involved.

Selling means giving up an incredibly cheap cost of capital, especially in an appreciating area like 28277.I direct my investors to 28277 all the time for appreciation-focused plays.