You will only see what you want to see (good deal) and not what you should see (the basement, the issues, the block values).

The issue is there are too many of these “gurus” on social media that are preaching S8 to everyone and how great it is.

I am looking for a private lender to finance my rehab on an already owned, gutted property in a desirable neighborhood of the city (Upper Lawrenceville): demo complete, structural engineer sign-off, architect-approved design to move the stairs (which is not a small deal in Pittsburgh), and city permit.

Will you have the time, resources, and mental commitment to dealing with tenant issues, maintenance, and other unexpected challenges that arise with property ownership?

a good deal for a SFH flip would be the buyer being ALL IN at absolute max 80% of the ARV (including the PP, renovations, assignment fee, closing costs), but a lot of investors would say it has to be max 75%, 70%, maybe even 65%. that said, shoot for 65%, and know your renovation costs. i've used $65/sqft for a gut reno, and until proven otherwise i'm assuming it's a gut job, BUT that PPSF is not always accurate, sometimes there are unique issues with the property that would drive that number way up. it gives you a place to start, though. 

We have a glorified house hack scenario in Portland where we rent about half of the property out as a mid term and while our travel nurse is working we are improving the second half of the property for a future permitted attached ADU. 

Plus there are several restaurants right in the lake and multiple marinas.Just make sure you buy on good water because it can fluctuate more than Keowee, but this has never been an issue for us.

However, the issue for me is after doing my numbers he'd still need to be way lower than $175k.

The house is mostly turnkey, with the seller having installed new carpet.However, I've heard concerning stories about tenants and their pets damaging carpets, even if pets weren't permitted per the lease. 

But I'd sell the rentals one at a time as there are issues, vacancies, capex, etc.