The justification I have for it is that virtually any other investor who hired us to do work would be getting the same amount of work done and paying my rate as well as my employees rates... functionally putting them in debt the same amount I would be-- and since I am doing the work of scheduling, ordering materials, overseeing, carrying insurance, quality control etc. etc. it makes sense that I be paid for that work, even if I am my own client. 

I bought a fixer upper in Houston, which will eventually be a rental..where do you go in Houston to buy flooring, bathroom material, fixtures, etc at a wholesale price?

There are 3 ways PMC's charge owners for Maintenance:1) Hourly: most common and is billed for the time servicetech is at the property and getting materials.

This is a common misconception. 2) The property replacement cost is between $100 and $125/ sq foot depending on types of materials. 3) Are you working with an Insurance broker?

Not sure what area of the country you are in so labor/material costs could be lower where you are.

Try and read and memorize all the material you can.

Alternatively, would you choose to keep these expenses since an HOC could in theory require a 1x fee if they are short on funds and need to do a major project like replace the windows, pave the parking lots, etc?

I have read some promising materials on renting to section 8 tenants, and I’ve analyzed some deals that i think make sense, but i think the section 8 procedures might be a bit complicated for a first-timer and i think it could complicate finding a property manager.

I bought some property with 2 houses and an apartment. At the time one house added 0 value to the mortgage, I went to refinance the property and I was told I could not refinance due to the second home having 0 value. ...

Many of our clients invest into alternative assets both inside and outside of their retirement accounts.