I recently had to get some garage door springs fixed on my home and nobody would give me a quote or even  come look at it without charging me $75+.For all this I pay 8% of rent collected, $300 to place the tenant and $150 for renewals.

One might even invite you to visit one of their projects to talk about it in detail and give you a peek behind the scenes. 

The issue is they usually pick lengthy, negative ones to the top even you have other hundreds of good reviews. 

If it's maximized by allowing only break even, then that's what they will allow.  

This experience taught me to trust my instincts more and never skip due diligence, even in areas I am less familiar with like basements and water intrusion.Any advice on how I should proceed would be greatly appreciated.

You can refinance into a FHA 203k or like @Jason Wray mentioned you could even use a Fannie May homestyle renovation loan as well!  

@Greg P.have you tried networking, going to meetups, or even starting your own mastermind or meetup for this?

@Matt Smith  I would ensure egress even if it is your brother using it.  

I never even considered a leased STR.

Following this discovery, he promptly contacted his attorney to dissolve the LLC.Additional Questionable Entities:Dogwood Capital InvestmentsM&M Capital Finance LLCKey Takeaways:Conduct Thorough Research: Always verify a company's registration with state and local authorities.Scrutinize Documentation: Examine identification and corporate documents closely for inconsistencies.Verify Contact Information: Ensure that all provided phone numbers and addresses are legitimate and connected to the entity.Be Cautious with Payment: Avoid wiring funds without extensive verification of the recipient's identity and legitimacy.While the majority of direct and private lenders operate ethically, even a single fraudulent interaction can damage your reputation and finances.