I am attempting to take the plunge into investing in real estate.

I'd be cautious about doing a cash out refinance too close to the sale or purchase because under audit, the auditor could possibly view it as attempting to avoid taking cash at closing because that is taxable.

I have attempted to, but they are to busy to return calls.

You'll also be able to take the leftover 70% of your $1M and invest it into other assets in an attempt to diversify your portfolio so you don't have all your eggs in one basket. 

I attempted to contact them multiple times (I gave my contact information to a cop who was parked outside my property, called the detectives and left a message, etc.) to learn exactly what happened and never heard back from them. 

There will always be con men out there.At the end of the day, you need to trust that the sponsor will do what they say and make their best, honest attempts to deliver on their promises. 

It appears to be attempting to weed out traits like strong "entitlement"; I tell my applicants it's kind of a good neighbor quiz.

@Jeff Copeland, Well it's an attempt by the government to clarify and simplify. 

Considering the job was subpar, the only way he could have made me feel better was to rebate some of his cost but he was already losing money on this task (It was a $2400 job including the materials (initially 3.5 yards of concrete and the material for the forms), I am fairly sure he had over 100 hours on it after all the attempts to fix it).This demonstrates one reason that these costs are high. 

My biggest sticking point at the moment is a lack of capital, so I am going to attempt to BRRR.Here’s the strategy: find a property requiring some light rehab (floors, paint, kitchen cabinets, landscaping) in the Point Place neighborhood for <$60k.