But I've never used premier so take that with a grain of salt.

Since buyers will be putting so much consideration into the kitchen, installing new cabinets, countertops, and a nice backsplash is vitally important!

@Jonathan Klemm long term i'd like to be by the lake so I'd like to venture closer to the Lakeview East area, especially if I do a live-in flip type deal where I'd be living there for at least 2 of the 5 years after purchase. 

The so-called glut of rentals is gone and prices are strongly higher.

I strongly recommend getting involved with your local REI meetup groups so you can work out your pitch with help from other landlords.I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way without tone or facial expressions behind it. 

So, say, properties in your target area are selling for about $100/sq.ft.

That is why I appreciate the biggerpockets community so much for advice.

We have tons of new apartment complexes, so renting out apartments in quads is taking longer since they offer less amenities.

So if you make you buy box too tight, you will find very few deals that will fit your buy criteria. 

But he was smart enough to only take over properties with equity so he was able to refi out of them before the underlying lienholders could foreclose.