It's easy to say, "Oh, it's family, so I'm going to give them a $400/month discount on the rent (whatever the discount is)." 

I'm sure the issue is me though, I just don't know where to look yet evidently.

Well for me its been easy to share when there were a few I'd work with but now there are so many newbie investors I'm thinking i need to charge a fee.

Lots of hidden water leak evidence.

I needed something cheap, easy to learn, agile, and powerful. 

Once you find one that you feel is helpful, easy to talk to and may have your best interest in mind take the flight because nothing beats seeing the area a few times.  

This gives you a lot of experience, financing is easy, and a lot of taxes could possibly be avoided if you live in it for 2+ years. 

2nd question - does anyone have an easy equation on how to calculate holding costs while doing a flip as well as what profit margin you look to make?

If you can't take a call don't worry about it, if they're motivated, they'll leave a message.Really the only exception to giving everyone lots of easy ways to reach you is if you're trying to push prospects through a specifically crafted funnel.For example, I do rent to own, which means when I advertise a house I get hundreds of 'buyers' who can't possibly afford it.

The wait lists are long, it's easy to fall off and just because you bump the rents doesn't mean they will qualify for assistance on their own merits.