If its not included in the contract its excluded .Change orders are paid up front , and add time to a job .

This excludes any commercial RE owned for my businesses, which have 0 leverage. 

If we use example above (bought the house for $40K and sold for $80K, roughly this is how it would work (excluding closing costs, paid in cash):Purchase price of property: $40,000PML to purchase the property: $50,000 at 6% APRDifference ($10,000) deposited to his account.Property sold for $80,000. $10,000 cash deposit collected from buyer.$70,000 financed as a 30 yr mortgage with 7% interest.Monthly payment to repay $50K PML in 5 years: $966.64Monthly payments collected on 30 yr loan of $70K @7%: $465.71$20,000 in the bank account after transaction closed. 

Most of my clients run their SFRs at a 25%-30% (excluding vacancy/credit loss) operating expense margin and most of the banks I deal with on their DSCR loans underwrite using 35%.

Also, one-time expenses can be excluded (added back).

And if you sell the house in the future and have qualified for the Section 121 exclusion, you can exclude up to $500,000 of gain if you are married, and $250,000 if you are single. 

I’m hoping to establish a reliable stream of unearned income through real estate investments, but I’m new to the field and looking for guidance.I have around $35,000 saved (excluding stock investments) and would love to connect with someone who can help me navigate this world.

You can exclude gains up to $500k if you're married, $250k if single.

Here’s what I do with my rentals:I either have tenants split the utility bills or include a clause in the lease that states if the gas or water bill exceeds a specific amount ($X), the tenant will be responsible for the overage, provided there are no leaks or other infrastructure issues contributing to the high usage.To determine this $X amount:Water: I take the highest water bill I’ve had over the past year (excluding periods where leaks occurred) and add about $15 to account for small fluctuations or potential increases.Gas: For gas, I calculate the median bill during the winter (when usage is highest) and the median bill in the summer (when usage is typically lowest).

That's almost by definition going to exclude most/all claims by a spouse.