Mortgages have rules, those rules are backed up by regulations, those regulations are covered under laws and violating any rule can result in big problems

Is there a general rule of thumb for renovation costs to rent?

For a novice investor/wholesaler, I am curious to fully understand the concept of the 70% ARV rule.

Best case may be, structure on land that can be leveled at the right time-Helps with city services, could be rented during delays, permit expedition due to existing structure, cookie cutter house plans that the city has seen many times can cut the permit process to a few weeks is what I have learned.I may have to find a new strategy - numbers in this market are just not fitting all the REI goto rules for cash flow, hence my interest in development to scrape the numbers together.Thank you for your time.

That sounds like a good plan James.Check out this quick video for some tips on vetting out potential deals: The 50% Rule: How to Quickly Analyze a Multifamily Investment Property

Some HOAs have caused property values to decline because of the reputation of the HOA or the rules the HOA enacted (60 watt light bulb???).

Rules from county to county and state to state dictate what minimal amount of an opening bid can be set by the mortgagee in FCL auction.

Then you two should split what's left 50/50.OTOH, him changing the rules when the deal is underway is a very, very bad sign.

It will include who pays what, including real estate commissions, in accordance to state law.These critical agreements should be constructed by a real estate attorney in the state where the property is located.State laws rule and vary.

He spent probably in excess of $25,000 in legal fees to perfect Texas lease options, especially since Austin changed the rules on lease options.You see, the crooks in REI in TX were bad guys, selling crap houses to Hispanics, selling on terms like rent to own and CFDs, the crooks not recording ANYTHING, foreclosing and evicting like the old West, and in 2005 Austin let loose on the public "executory contract" TX laws.Bottom line, "scare the heck out of REIs selling houses on terms.