We missed the window with the condos we rent now, they bottomed out at $140k and $160k for a 2br REO that needed paint/carpet then quickly climbed back to the $200k mark for similar units in just a few months.

I am seeing many more banks putting carpet and paint in on REO's to sell the home buyers instead of investors.

Give 'em all you got and they will sift through it and choose what they need.

We choose each for various reasons.

If it is SOLIDLY worth $300K, considering the low end comps (not the best ones, an appraiser won't choose those), then you need to buy it for, say $200K.

For example, if I were to find a property for 125k and it need say 25k to paint, lay some new carpet, add a washer and dryer etc., how would you raise that 25k?

In your case, given that you are new to this, I would recommend hiring a GC and then paying attention to how they do things, so you can get more comfortable with hiring specific subcontractors yourself if you choose to do so.

I will encourage them to be self employed no matter what they choose.

Will need some paint (inside and out), maybe kitchen vinyl, fridge ($50 from a local apt complex), and few other small things.

I have found that I can make cabinets look new by sanding and painting the boxes and ordering doors online.