Obviously, the desired ROI is different for everyone, but I would venture to guess most the full timers on this site consistently see double digits.

Not too difficult to get double digit returns.

@Brock Adams  the issue come to find out is the attorney has to hire and pay for a title abstractor as an independent contractor.. so they are reluctant to do that until they think the deal is going to close. so I have to pay for it up front. ( cost of doing business on my end)Where as in on the Left coast were we use title and escrow companies the county records are digitized and in their in house title plant and they can spit out title commitments very cheaply and rapidly. and you NEVER pay for them in advance.. and if I cancel a deal they just suck it up as cost of doing business.. unlike a closing attorney in SC they expect to get paid as they have paid a 3rd party vendor ( and I can't blame them at all either ).. its just wild how far behind some of the east coast states are in getting title into the 21st century or at least the second 2/3rds of it   :)

It goes back to the old saying "if you are at a poker table and you don't see a sucker, it's you."

There are a lot of costs to cover before realizing net profit, which is often in the single digits for contractors (which, I presume, is the 3-5% figure that @Manolo D. refers to as I know of no business which can operate on a 3-5% markup).Your post is unclear in defining that the project "should cost about $100K"... when you say "cost", are you referring to the hard costs of the job (less overhead and profit) or what you think the net cost of the project should be to you?  

Kind of what I am trying to mirror here digitally.

If you're looking for a double digit CAP rates & passing on properties that listed in the high 8 & 9s you're missing out on the best part of real estate, besides cash flow.  

I've had plumbers tell me 1. oh good they didn't cut down into the slab, this is an easy job 2. oh good this is cast iron, it's very resilient 3. oh no this is cast iron it presents a lot of problem and we need to dig it up and provide you with a new water line and sewage line (made them explain what a water line was, now I know)Dry wall guy didn't want to do anything but patch up what was there.

Double Digit returns are very possible. 

Investors/wholesalers drop 5 digits on their campaign per month in hot markets because that's what it takes to sustain a pipeline.