I have my own construction company in addition to my real estate business so my situation is different than most as I have the entire scope of work completed by my own crews aside from a few items like plumbing that we sub out.Before that, I acted as the GC as owner builder and hired each individual sub.

basically Houston doesn't believe in general licenses. how to hire onehttps://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/03/1...as stated above try to find a bonded/insured contractor.managing your contractorshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2010/04/1...additional tiphttps://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/05/1...paperwork to help make sure you don't get screwedhttps://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2010/04/0...Thoughts?

It's not in my current lease, but I will have several units open over the next month, so it's still an addition to my lease that I might want to add.

In addition the majority of the not so experienced are either out of state (OOS) or planning on going OOS.So I am not recommending against going to the San Diego BP social as much as 1) setting an expectation 2) suggesting you may want to go to a meetup maybe associated with an RE investor club.BTW there used to be a near monthly BP Meetup at various RE investment properties. 

Regarding Condo Exterior repairs, it is also common for a major repair to require additional funds over the HOA dues, so a Special Assessment is often levied.   

You should ask the bank first if they can provide additional funding, but be prepared to explain what happened with documentation to support it. 

If you're looking for additional safety, you could even split some of it to be invested into conservatively underwritten debt, so that if things go badly you can foreclose and recover some or all of your principal.

Hi Savannah - PM me your email so I can add it to our list.

But any additional positive feedback and tips are much appreciated.

My long-term goal (15+ years) is to have a portfolio of rentals for income, a solid retirement pool, and additional capital for investment to provide to the next generation of "doers" who want to flip or buy-and-hold.