You have to include the cost of your time and the work, especially on a "scary house" is daunting indeed. 

These traditionally have lower rates than cash-out refinances and will only cover your existing loan amount + closing costs, so you'll need an existing mortgage for this type of loan.4.

You can always consider doing a cost seg study on a property that you buy and that can also help with tax benefits if you cannot qualify for the real estate professional status.

24 dead now as of this morning.....Costs are already estimated at $250 billion, high winds returning (50-70 mph) through Wednesday.

Can try to reposition to Class B, but neighborhood may impede these efforts.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, but 15-20% should be used to also cover tenant nonpayment, eviction costs & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores of 560-620 (approaching 22% probability of default), many blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 2 years.

There are ways to mitigate the costs and protect yourself to the extent possible.

If they don't show up, projects get very delayed and become unprofitable, even costly.

To qualify for a loan, focus on having a credit score of at least 620 (or 580 for FHA loans), keeping your total monthly debt under 43% of your income, and saving enough for a down payment and closing costs—about 5-10% of the home's price in total.

These are all upfront soft costs before you break ground. $300sqft to build at least.If you have any sort of mortgage on the property you will need an attorney to handle the mountain of paperwork the bank will give you for a lien release. 10k+, also probably some nightmare terms to have to build and sell immediately and god knows what.At this point a year has passed and you have spent at least $60,000 cash, you're about to break ground on a structure that will cost you at the very least $400,000 to build, you are still 1 year away from cashing out because you have to now build a house.

@Yamil NafRaising $160,000 for your short-term rental (STR) venture is a great goal, and there are several ways to structure the deal to minimize your upfront costs while attracting investors.