Love to see what others have done, and if there are certain high value services that can help with this in a budget friendly way. 

As well as high quality social groups for real estate investing on forums/internet sources.

I like Northside and Northeast school districts but many of these areas are priced too high to cash flow.

High to mid 6s depending how much down. 

If they break them it is less expensive to replace a rod then a door   For showers use a door but a high quality frameless shower door.   

Just food for thought

You don't HAVE to buy points, but if you have a high DTI, the lender might not be able to do the deal unless you do, we can't tell from the information that you've provided here. 

Most of the houses we are finding on the MLS are priced too high for the numbers to work on a fix/flip. 

- You missed utilities in your holding costs- For your first rehab you should plan on a little more than 6 months, just in case- You might want to double check your tax number as taxes in NY can be pretty high- The biggest area where mistakes are made for new investors when it comes to flips and BRRRRs are in the ARV and the rehab cost.

As for doing work yourself, you are a high paid SW engineer.