So I can only imagine if you're trying to loan all over the country, unless the money is your own, or the financier of the HML itself is lax, there have to be some tight standards.  

Riviera Beach is a big rental and vacation home area filled with snow birds but I can't even imagine anything half way decent selling for $100k there unless you're talking about on the west side of Riviera Beach which in that case is very ghetto.

I'm reading all thses success stories with people owning lots of properties  I can't imagine having 6 months cash reserves per property.

Then when you are ready to refinance, you may have to look past your current bank and possibly not get the lowest rate imaginable.

I never imagined owning the nine properties I have now.

Imagine I wake up one day and want to start flipping.

I totally understand why the banks need what they want, but I can't imagine that newly self employed investors are completely out of the game for 1-2 years?  

The first friend has had over 20 years experience doing flooring, cabinetry and just about everything else you can imagine.

I imagine looking on the recorders website is a good start.

Can vouch for Andrew Schultz at Own Buffalo - he's managed my properties for 3-4 years now and in that short period of time I've run into just about every issue you can imagine; problems with toilet, trees falling in storm, trees falling a separate time and crushing a newly stained fence, roof leak, basement flooded, and a list of needy tenant issues - bottom line is Andrew Schultz probably saved my marriage.