Finding quality trades people today has become a challenge . . . the good ones are booked and the bad ones are plentiful. 

I have asked my tenants to confirm their contact info and names of all people living in the house including name and age of their children. 

@Travis AndresIf you do not have other assets to secure against - your best bet would be a private lender willing to take risk of essentially providing an unsecured loan.There are people out there that do this - expect very high interest rates.

Well besides the hard costs (construction, materials) and soft costs (permitting, architecture, fees, engineering) people often forget holding costs. 

Most people wont go that extra step.Oh, and by the way, don't send beautiful well designed post cards.

Just keep in mind that the people here are human, make mistakes, and do things "their way," and you should always do your own diligence on whatever questions you ask.

In addition to the workmanship, you want to work with someone who is good at managing time, people and his relationship with you, his client :-)    We are actually building out a network of approved contractors because one of the biggest pain points investors and landlords face in Philly is finding reliable solutions. 

Same reason people ask criminal record. 

In some cases yes, in most cases, that is not suitable for alot of people. 

I offer listing price and a bunch of people swooped in and bid up the price, so I checked out.