Hawaii may be different as it seems to attract foreign capital from Asia, making it less dependent on US economic cycles, but I don't know enough about the factors driving that market.My personal preference is to force equity by making improvements, which lead to increased cash flow, which improves the NOI, which increases the value (assuming the prevailing cap rates remain stable).Erik (here to learn)

We are 2, soon to be 3 Realtors (I am studying for my license currently) and a crew of 4 full time subs, a designer and a General Contractor.  

I'd say the neighborhood is a B - range, and in a city that has lately been having tons of tourists attractions built (this is South Florida after all!)

Any CMS or other type of web design will still have to be hosted somewhere.Often, website hosting companies also offer website building services, but understand that they are different things... those packages are often ridiculously priced (yes GoDaddy, I'm talking to you).

Needless to say, it wasn't a really attractive value proposition from what I had seen.

I'm the #s guy and not the design guy. 

The big players have access to investor cash and have the means to work with borrowers and legal system, while it takes working knowledge, the returns can be very attractive for even small scale investors.

Hard Money Loans are designed to fix exactly the situation you find yourself in.  

I'm a Kitchen & Bath Designer and have remodeled a bunch of kitchens and baths, so I'm hoping that experience will help make my flips, and rental properties, more competitive in the marketplace.

I didn't have one available in her target markets, but did have one just outside her area and it was one that I knew would fit the design aesthetic I saw on her first rehab.