There are laminated wood flooring products that are relatively inexpensive and durable.

I noticed that a lot of landlords skimp in this area or choose cool and inexpensive pedestal sinks, and it was one of the things that daily drove me crazy and made me anxious to move out.

Russel's post is that you'll always have a trade-off.Usually in Expensive Markets, you'll have a lot of appreciation, little, no, or negative cash-flow.Your ROI will be coming from the equity you earn from holding onto the property overtime, and as demand (people want to buy in that area) appreciation forces up the market value of the home.In high cash flowing markets, you'll have a lot of cash flow but little to no appreciation.

Hard to know what funding sources might be best without knowing more about your personal scenario, but in general some ideas are: - private money (money from someone you personally know who is willing to lend it to you)- partner with someone who has the money (partner provides the the money, you find the deal and do the work, you both split the profits)- hard money loans (be careful with these being a new investor -- also, they are going to want you to put some of your own money in the deal)- bank loan (if you and the property both qualify -- some potential flip houses may need to be "cash only" sales due to the condition of the property -- regardless, you'll also need to bring some of your own money into the deal for the down payment and the repairs)- HELOC on a property you already own (this can be a great and very inexpensive way to get money if you already have a property with significant equity that you can draw from)You say you have money for tax deed and tax lien investing.

Deal of a lifetime there, but that's a long time to wait and have $100K+ probably in expenses and probably a lot more than that, waiting for that lifetime payout when the customer could also call you to say thanks for all your hard work, but Nashville just offered us better incentives, we're going there.   

Philadelphia, PAI have mostly lived in expensive cities, but hands down Chicago is a great city to live. 

Currently I have 25k in cash (with 2k added each month from my 9-5 job) and was looking to buy in the east (Milwaukee, Cleveland, or Detroit areas), because of how inexpensive these properties are.

For example, on my last two offerings I had intended to go nationwide, which would have required about $100k in expense for SEC and various state registrations.

I stick with the inexpensive sets and just buy a re-key kit at Lowes or Home Depot for Kwikset locks.

I'm impressed, had no idea that a kitchen could be replaced so inexpensively.