Will most certainly help you scale once you have a larger portfolio. - 2 of @Brandon Turner's books The Book on Rental Property Investing and The Book on Managing Rental Properties.

No contractor will work for free and agree to simply share profits.

I would make double the profit on these but no equity and probably much less resale value and yearly massive renovation.

I don't need to make a profit, but I need to keep my payments as low as humanly possible, including property management fees.

However, my area is nearby to that of @Christine Swaidan's, so the trend may be different in your area.The general idea is that because CA is so tenant-friendly, and because our property costs are so high, one bad tenant can wipe out months - or even years - of profitability.

How do the neighbors yard lookSale priceAnd to lesser degree how much do you think you will profit?

My fear is that, even if peaked, there is still some time to earn some profit in Nashville and then get out before the market dries up and Tampa is just much more of a question mark.  

While there are still some properties that ca be profitable, other areas might be more desirable in this area.

Besides, I'm a newbie and many investors disapproved of this deal the last time I posted it at BP.A few days later, to save my friend from an unprofitable deal, I ask her to buy a house for herself since she's not into it for profit but to seek a bigger shelter than her condo.

and if renting for short-term is even profitable?