As long as the seller has equity and isn't underwater (in which case it would be a short sale unless they have cash to bring to the closing table), the mortgage isn't a big deal. 

You can add some pretty flower pots (keep them watered), Adirondack chair and small garden table and a colorful welcome mat on the front porch to make it more inviting. 

My dad has a lot of general construction and maintenance experience, and he brings quite a few connections to the table as well.

Will be driving from Nashville to the Great Smoky Mountains.

The table in the book in the section talking about CAPEX lists things like water heaters, appliances, windows, paint, etc.

This, of course, can be a real challenge for a lot of people that don't have a giant pile of Benjamins laying around waiting for a deal to come along.As @Greg Scott said above a HELOC is an option, but I have found banks will NOT do these on rental properties and I am not really interested in doing this on my primary residence so that was off the table for me.However, here is something I am in the process of doing that I will put out here to see if it benefits some of you.

Due to the high spring water table (we are in Connecticut), there is still some dampness in a few areas of the concrete floor in the remaining basement.  

We don't want to leave money on the table, but at the same time we don't want to sit on the place forever either.  

Our mentor is very successful and doesn’t mind doing a couple of deals with us to get us started as long as we bring our part to the table.

What are some ways you split your deals between you and an investor(s) when you're not bringing any cash to the table?