A large firm may charge more than a small one due to higher costs/overhead. 

A much needed one!

For example, the house is old so if they see all new PVC plumbing in it and there was not even one permit pulled for that, you can be sure it's an issue.Here in Hollywood, Florida....I know a guy that purchased a home. 

You now have $5k in unreimbursed expenses, and 2 houses; one with a $200k mortgage worth $250k (giving you $50k in equity), and; one with a paid off HELOC, value and mortgage unknown, but presumably with more than $165k in equity.You should also treat the $5k unreimbursed renovation cost as a debt and pay it back (even to yourself) accordingly.There is no tax due because not only did you not make any realized gain, but there was no sale. 

I was looking at one point to also rent to operators since I still have my W-2 to focus on.

It is considered one of the hot spots for young professionals and has worked hard to develop a diversified economic base.

One challenge we encountered was managing the renovation timeline to meet market demand.

Are you put in a course and Facebook group or is there real one-on-one attention?  

Flips are tough, and the first one is always a huge learning curve.

no one really wants to hear this though... they want the shortcut.there are also ways to recycle capital, like the BRRRR method, which works but is tough right now with interest rates so high and deals tough to find (and 10 other things, but those are big ones).