You're right, we should have never retained this contractor until the appropriate documents were given to us.

This was a handshake type deal, and the tenant was paying just a couple thousand dollars a year for 5-6 acres of land where the tens is storing 204 old wind energy blades.

there's no buying a BRRRR deal with $0 - you need cash to buy, and then you need cash every month to pay the holding costs and service the debt during the rehab.lots of things are making BRRRR tough right now, especially the increase in interest rates and the fact that prices have leveled off. if you did a BRRRR in 2020 and just waited 12 months, prices would go up, and that would help your appraisal. that is not the case anymore. other factors are making it difficult too - there is lots of competition for deals, both on and off market; lots of good contractors are booked up; and lending has tightened a little, and it's harder to get a higher LTV.so just to be clear: -BRRRR requires lots of cash - it's way more cash intensive than portrayed-BRRRR is not a cash flow strategy - you will end up with a break even property-if done right, you'll wait 3-12 months to get some (or close to call if you really crush it) of your invested cash backI know this wasn't your exact question, but I had this typed up for another thread and thought it was relevant herehope this helps

First decide the area(s) of interest to you as an investor - both geographically and the type of investment (SFR, small / large multi, storage, etc).

If you are wanting to find out if it is legal or not, check out Zimas.LaCity.Org, type in the address and go under permitting on the left hand side.

As for the future I hope to get a Heloc or other type of loan against it in the next few years to pay off the current owner and do more repairs.

Multifamily Millionaire Book Bundle – BiggerPockets Bookstore I think by reading those you'll get a better sense of where you want to focus on multifamily and from there you can continue your focus on what type of analytics/underwriting makes sense.

But go back to the realtor where you are at and tell them the type of multi family you would like and walk you through making an offer.  

What ways can I prepare myself for these type of events. 

Despite repeated requests, the agent has not provided certain essential documents or receipts, such as proof that the home was exterminated by the seller.