So I have a hard time blaming the management company on that end, but when things began to blow up, the management company did not communicate with me well at all making for many restless nights.

It's about communicating and working with other investors in your area.

It takes one, perhaps two projects for a contractor/investor relationship to develop a level of trust and solid communication.

The way you communicated your concerns was much better received by me than another post - same content but your delivery was much more mature, in my opinion.

Needless to say, I'd rather pay my fair share and abide by the rules.

Just initially as everything is renovated and fairly new.

I'm fairly open as to the style of REI I pursue.

Investor loans are notoriously underwriter-intensive, and so a good line of communication between your lender and the underwriter is important.* Ask them where the appraisers come from and how are they selected.

Since the returns are fairly similar, at least in the short term, then one idea is to simply alternate.

Elizaveta, I will take a crack at it since no one has responded yet. 1) My first deal was a fairly in depth rehab which included foundation repairs, window replacements, garage roof replacement, electric work, plumbing work, floor refinishing, and a lot of the things we do to almost all our rehabs (new light fixtures, new outlet covers, new appliances, new doors, etc).