At this stage, your best bet is gathering as much information as possible.

, rehabbed (I'll bet $20k for rehab is high, with the right "mobile home rehabbers involved"), and roll all that into a new loan .

I'd expect something closer to $30/month.If your rent and reno numbers are good, and this isn't in a war zone, I bet you can cash flow $300+/month.

In no particular order I have listed some of the most popular markets for out of state investorsCincinnati, OhioDayton, OhioToledo, OhioYoungstown, OhioCincinnati, OhioMemphis, TennesseeSaint Louis, MissouriIndianapolis, IndianaDetroit, MichiganErie, PennsylvaniaLouisville, KentuckyMilwaukee, WisconsinJackson, MississippiEach of these markets is popular with turnkey investors because of the low barrier to entry, high rental demand & high rent to price ratio.

Your best bet would be to find a private lender to partner with you on the first deal. 

At those prices, I bet your market is seeing some decent appreciation.

This is pretty local, though.I bet you can get a much better rate than 5%.Your missing management.

If this dude can't complete your projects....you definitely aren't collecting from him if you somehow won the case.Then you'll be out even more time and money...Forgot to add, you're most likely bet and efficient use of time is to file a complaint the license board for the state..and if you're using an unlicensed contractor well you really have no plausible recourse through legal channels.

Many portfolio programs start at 100k loan amount, so waiting the 6 months seasoning period to use the higher value is probably your best bet.

I do not know if this is a popular thing to do but I was going to Rehab my first investment property but end up occupying it while renting out my current home.