Flipping without experience is risky as you can easily overlook tricky issues and end up with large unexpected expenses (asbestos removal, foundation issues, mold...)That said, if I was to start today, I would look at reasonably priced duplex or SFRs with MIL potential. 

We need to discuss SOW for him, given that we have an unexpected 3-5k for plumbing stack replacement.

Joseph I am a lender and investor located in NY , thanks for your post .Question , are there any capital call obligations associated with your syndications for capital improvements , cover unexpected expenses , etc ?

Considering this, you need to make sure that you have sufficient money reserves to cover any unexpected repairs that creep up (they always do).  

I will also create an upfront operating account fund to cover any unexpected issues that occur before I build an adequately sized reserves account from the ongoing savings. 

A tenant unexpectedly left a week before closing.

We never know if the place will always be fully leased or unexpected expenses come up to cause the DSCR to be lower for that one year. 

(You must make at least $100 over and above your expenses for each rental unit to allow for vacancies and other unexpected expenses).I also highly recommend buying more than one property at a time.

Someone making 3X the rent should be able to handle most unexpected events. 

What sort of due diligence did you do to make sure the HOA is healthy and there are no unexpected surprises down the road?