.): $1,500Paint (most rooms need paint): $1,000Roof Shingles: (may or may not need to do; roof missing a few shingles near gutter): $300Dryer Duct (missing a piece that connects from laundry room to outside, quick fix): $100Hot Water Heaters (electric) x 2: $2,000 (which is probably way high, but trying to be conservative).TOTAL ESTIMATED REHAB BUDGET (which is probably sky-high): $9,400ESTIMATED CLOSING COSTS: $5,000 all-inPROJECTED CASH-ON-CASH RETURNS: 14.91%=====================SECTION 8 PROGRAMI really need to educate myself on the Section 8 program. 

Copies of any Governing Documents and Budgets shall be provided prior to closing.;6.

One thing I would be careful of is not knowing, or underestimating, your repair costs which can take a big bite out of your budget and profit.

I would try using this calculator and input conservative numbers for your pro forma rents, repair budget, taxes, insurance, vacancy, and other misc costs.Also, I was listening to the blog, reading posts, and previewed 100 homes over a 6 months process before I pulled the trigger.

Mistakes are certainly part of the learning curve, still it's nice to avoid them.I think the one thing I would tell myself would be to not skimp on due diligence: get bids when need be (especially while learning to budget accurately), get expert advice on questionable foundations, scope the sewer lines in older homes, check the utilities, etc.What one lesson would you tell your pre-investor self?

Congrats on getting your first deal.Have you given yourself a budget for rehab?

I am really considering a budget for getting started.

I have little money so a skip tracer or PI is not in my budget.

I know this question is probably hard to answer, so if you can give some examples of where previous projects have gone considerably over budget and what caused the problem that may give me a better answer.As always, thanks for the advice everyone, very valuable to a newbie!

I ran a couple grand over budget on my foundation and putting in the 8 footers would put me back on budget, but with what affect on the selling price!?!