So, the question I am throwing out to everyone is what is a reasonable amount to pay a GC for an hour of their time to assess a home and come up with an estimate on repairs?

He is also an investor and very accurate with his assessments on scope and price.From his assesment I am able to make a budget to run my numbers.#1 I don't wear anything special #2 Inspection last about 30 minutes to an hour#3 What you have on your list looks good. 

My wife and I started listening to Bigger Pockets about three years ago and soon realized that there lay many opportunities for us to invest in real estate and make a better return than what we were in the stock market.In January of 2018 I started sending yellow letters to local absentee owners who had properties assessed at less than $100K.  

Also one thing I've realized is it is good to check the Bexar CAD tax information: sometimes the assessed value is shown AFTER homestead or other exemption (about $726/year difference in cash flow). 

The loan is $81k and it’s assessed at $114k (tax assessor).

Since this is a yearly assessment tool, would you ever factor in holding cost if you anticipate a rehab taking a significant amount of time??? 

You especially want to know if there are any big assessments coming up and also if they’re going to have a problem with your renting out the unit.As far as RI vs other areas of the country, I think it comes down to your comfort level.

So your initial assessment (pre-refi) will not yield you a 6% ROI. 

I went in with a 500-600k budget in mind (for 4-5 BR)- the more research I do, the more it seems like in some of the areas mentioned I will have a hard time finding such places unless I up it to 750k (if that's a fair assessment).

Coming up with exit strategies from every deal you come across helps you better assess your options as an investor with a home.