The lottery? 

I can understand your mentor's advice (50-60% ARV w/$100 EMD) when making offers on off-market deals or properties, but on MLS listed properties, you are likely wasting your time and everyone else's and any decent realtor won't waste their precious time playing the lottery.  

All other areas okEl Dorado County - 900 permit cap inside the basin with 110 on the waitlist.  500 foot buffer zone rule county wideDouglas County - 600 permit cap with a waitlist lottery that you have to reapply to annually until you win a permitWashoe County - Allows STR permits, may be prohibited by certain HOAsPlacer County - Moratorium on STR permits but will allow a buyer to get a permit if seller had one in good standing

If an old man can figure out how to beat the lottery legally, a young man can figure out how to buy his first property and start a business too. 

We have some major expenses this year including a new roof and repaving the driveway so we probably won't be able to buy another investment property until next year, unless we hit the lottery before then.

So it is inevitable to play out badly.The only way rent control can have a chance is if the tenants themselves understand that enacting these laws will only benefit the small amount of tenants that win the "Lottery" to say in their apt for a long period of time reaping the benefit and denying a more efficient usage of it to a more appropriate family.Human greed comes in and the tenant will eventually want to have their interest first before the interest of another tenant.The real problem is that the tenants are MUCH more numerous than the Landlord and this trend will be continuing.

Tenants have to "win" a lottery to get a section 8 voucher.

Being 55k off on renovation estimates is likely a BIG % to be off....Prioritize what has to happen NOW to be able to rent the property and plan and budget for what can happen later.And get some more estimates....HELOC, construction loan...play the lottery...

I'm not an attorney, but as far as I can tell you just won the lottery. 

Just like the lottery, you're always going to hear about the winners but rarely will you hear about the millions of losers.There, this is my one a selfless act for the day.