There are still some "hidden gems" but it does take time to find them and not everyone likes the areas or will even work/manage in the lower priced homes. 

The debt/Income ratios were tight, but with property values rising, you could "flip" a multi-family property with some meat on the bone and still have a payday on a sale or refinance.On the 128/95 ring around the city you would need to shop the markets where you might find some hidden gems.

A couple of things you can do to protect yourself from markups and hidden fees is to require subcontractor and vendor invoices.

You can provide written instructions for change in where and to whom rent is to be paid due to change of ownership/management, but it is best if they first get notification of change in management from the owner/PM whose agreement is in force.

Some vendors only use email, which is preferred, others respond best by phones that are answered by multiple call takers) , providing them with Tenant contact info, address, and info on the issue at hand.5) Vendor makes contact same day, scheduling the service with tenant.6) Depending on the issue, vendors may be instructed to call my cell from the site with additional info and/or estimate before proceeding.

Now I use an app that allows me to send house information and visual cleaning/turnover instructions to the person doing the turnover for me.

The bank is not required to send a 1098 if the interest they received from you is less than $600 or if the interest is “received from a corporation, partnership, trust, estate, association, or company (other than a sole proprietor) even if an individual is a coborrower and all the trustees, beneficiaries, partners, members, or shareholders of the payer of record are individuals.”You can read the instructions (and exceptions) for the form here:https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1098Whether or not they send the form, you should still be able to deduct the interest you paid if it’s a valid business expense. 

My wire instructions were sent without the company's request, which was questionable.

That said, Hospitable is great for having a single inbox, automating messages (check-in info, checkout instructions, trash day, offering night before and night after discounts, etc.).

The second way to find deals is to find the hidden value in them.