Wouldn't you have essentially saved a substantial amount in interest during that initial period?

@Christopher Messer I have a STR in the Disney area in Florida and just last week was googling to see if there was such a service to essentially evict the guests because of a party. 

Purchase price: $75,000 Cash invested: $25,000 Bought the house in ok conditions.I fixed the garage, added a bathroom in the basement, and made it into a 4bed 2 bath.The basement is also ready for the bigger renovation I will do before I sell it.For now it a great rental.

They handle all of the legwork, you make the final decision, and you essentially exchange time for x value, which depends on the firm and the individual deal.

Essentially identical to a sale with owner financing but the deed stays with the seller.Yes, you can 1031 into such an arrangement as long as the contract has been written so that in the terms all of the burdens and benefits of ownership have transferred to you. 

Purchase price: $75,000 Cash invested: $25,000 Bought the house in ok conditions.I fixed the garage, added a bathroom in the basement, and made it into a 4bed 2 bath.The basement is also ready for the bigger renovation I will do before I sell it.For now it a great rental.

As I said, there are other ways but I’m going to guess the vast majority do as I describe.Education is essential and having ‘A Why’ is important but at some point you have to put the phone or book down and execute.

I've heard of people being able to essentially powerwash the pipes from the inside, but I imagine that this could damage older pipes. 

There’s even a special version for wet places like bathrooms, laundry rooms, etc.

Quick introduction: I'm coming off my first investment, a deal where I'm househacking a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom townhome in San Jose, CA.