I just finished a crazy quiet title action on a commercial deal in AZ and it took about 1.5yrs to complete, but it's finally done as of this month.   

If its an occupied property you need to factor in eviction costs/time and you will likely have no interior access so rehab costs are a complete unknown.

He said as architect we are liable for a specific term upwards of 5-7 years after construction is complete.

Likewise, your annual or quarterly or whatever property tax payment is expensed when paid, if you're on the the cash basis (which most people are) but you've already counted that in the reserves.Here is what your accounting software probably shows in the month that you paid the property taxes.Rental Income - $1000.00Expenses:Insurance:               30.00Property Mgmt:   100.00Mortgage Int:        350.00Property Tax:        700.00   Total Expenses:    1180.00Net Loss                   180.00So what you want to do is dump this report into excel in order to reconcile it back to your cash flow.Start with your Net Loss Number and then make adjustments until you reach your cash flow:Net Loss:        180.00Add Expenses Paid from Reserves:Property Taxes:  700.00Subtract Other Cash PaymentsMortgage Principal: $150.00Amount transferred to reserves:  $80.00Net Cash Flow:  $290.00Cash Flow is a completely separate calculation than Profit and Loss. 

You'd be looking at putting 10% down and getting the rehab costs completely covered. 

We have a vacant house that is currently being renovated and are looking to do a lease option when the renovations are complete.

@Skyler Chaney,  Hello Skyler, I've been looking at plans for an unbuilt tri-plex which when completed is expected to offer cash flow of several thousand per month, instant equity of near 20%, and a Cash on Cash Return on investment of over 50% the first year.  

How do we go about making sure the job that we paid for gets completed, and what they ruined gets fixed to our standards?

Once the improvements are complete then title is transfered to you at the new value of acquisition cost + the cost of improvements.Example - Sell a property for $300K. 

Or pay contractor a bonus for completing on schedule.