I planned on living there a long time and just did the repairs that i did for my own benefit and was going to redo everything again down the line when i had more money and wasnt doing everything all at once.  

Because of the existing nursery home lien, the new note would be second in line. 

We had a reliable renter already lined up so didnt have to worry about the search or vacancy. 

Have you tried to obtain an unsecured line of credit with your new business in addition to your loan? 

There are also line of credit type options that may work for you. 

Then we just had him split them into 4 separate plans and we dropped them at the building department on a unit by unit basis- when we were finishing up one, we dropped another for approval and went down the line.

I’ve been itching to buy a shell in the area but I want to line up a well trusted (experienced) contractor before diving in.

We are looking for immediate cashflow and value add opportunity properties in our local market.If you plan to manage your own property, try to line up a really good, handyman, plumber and HVAC guy in advance. 

I see real estate as another ongoing skill that would be best to learn now and excel at rather than wait and talk about what could have been down the line; life is too short not to thrive!

Here are the number for that:List Price: 59,000Market Value: ~$61,000Repairs/make ready: $10,0003 bed/1 bathTaxes: ~$38/monthDown Payment at 20% (no creative financing): 11,980Mortgage at 5.5% interest: $272/monthReplacement reserve: $75/monthCap X: $75/monthUtilities: 0 (paid by tenant)Property management: 9% of rent plus 1 month rent for tenant placementEstimated rent: $950/monthMonthly Income after expenses: $169/monthCash on Cash Return: 9.2%This would fit my investment criteria in terms of what I'm looking for, but as I mentioned above, I don't have the money for a down payment or the repairs right now.