In retrospect, I would have preferred to not claim these expenses against my income and simply pay the higher tax bill, than to get a tax deduction and reduce my mortgage qualification amount by a decent amount.  

Overall square foot, 1 or 2 story, brick, siding, stucco, peer and beam or slab foundation, level of interior upgrades (i.e. contractor grade, custom, etc.)

hi dilyn. welcome to BP and to the real estate world. when i first got started, i wanted to read every book i could, go to every seminar i could attend,   and take  every class i could find. i learned early on that most of these " schools" are shams. if you can walk away from a seminar with more knowledge that you walked in with, great. learn everything you can from every source possible, but it shouldn't cost you a bundle of money paid to a guy who claims to be " making it rich in real estate". lets face it, if he were getting rich by flipping houses, why is he teaching and not doing??

Customer service at our title companies can be very helpful.Contractors are contractors you just have to shop until you find one you like.CPA  again this is not complicated accounting by any means any CPA could help you just find one you get along with.good luck with whatever your niche is.. and remember to take into account the Excise tax if your flipping RE...

If this is the case he can quit claim his interest in the property prior to sale.

You can tell the investor you have the first right of refusal, but actually, that died with the deed in lieu and your claim is against the prior owner if you paid anything for the right to purchase.

The negative customer service experiences many borrowers have had in hard money, is often due to the lack of standardization in the industry.

They countered with what they claim the land is worth; $47k.

After doing a bit more research, we found lots of guru's claiming everything.

Some will say you just need Liability Insurance, but there are tons of risks with that, since most policies will find carve-outs, limits, and flat out will tend to deny larger claims on technicalities that will have you fighting for your personal assets in court.With that being said, LLCs limit personal vulnerability to potential lawsuits related to the property(ies).