As far as labor, Set milestones for your project and at the successful completion of a milestone that portion of the payment could be made.  

@Hari Mann   @Eddy Dumire   I got licensed recently and I am taking some time to set a foundation for generating business, before I go out there and start flailing around like I see some new licensees doing.  

I think that's right, but I don't know if there are other types of properties (aside from the really distressed ones that might be worth inquiring about) where this strategy is used. 

It is during this time that we set ourselves up to make the best decisions for our investments.

I got there early so that I didn't miss out on anything and actually made it there early enough to help the other volunteers set up a table with name tags and itineraries.

I have a side job, so will not need to depend on selling as many homes as possible to survive and I live minimally.

The set fee was 10% but once I handed over my 5 units they went down to 9%.  

Generally no set penaltyIf this is an REO, your contract states the bank owes no penalty, either wait or walk, there could be title issues, or just behind.

I am in the process of setting up Appfolio and a website to do rentals, I have a rehab team and an office manager ready to engage.

This would allow us to complete the rehab using personal lines/private money and then set up traditional financing after 1 year of collecting rents.