I am in the Tampa Florida area and if it were me, I would fix up the house and sell it. 

Howdy,New to RE Investing: I am curious to know how much can one earn if one refers a money lender to a full-time house filpper.

Hey @Laura Casner, I agree with others to use the local real estate and find out what others are paying.I would call an agent and give them some specs on the house you are planning and the location and they should be able to give you some decent idea of insurance cost.I would budget a bit more for repairs and maintenance for the first year after the build.

Now that the house has been sold and we no longer have to communicate with a realtor, this behavior is worse. 

Nice to be able to see who is using that house as a residence and such.

I painted the whole interior of the house repose gray from Sherwin Williams .

My husband and I purchased a 2 family house that was fully occupied with tenants, intending to live in the first floor.

As you are pointing out - the expenses will all hit at some point if you own for long enough.If you buy a house that needs a new roof and a new furnace within a year... then you need to budget for those expenses in a year. 

.- When I bought the house, I renovated the apartment and it is currently being rented out.- My question is do I do a cash out refinance or take out a HELCO (the mortgage broker I used originally advised that)?

Then once you close on the house take out a standard 30 year mortgage to pay off the hard money loan?