He has been working on properties his whole life so he’s a great resource and partner on getting the work done but as this is my first purchase and reno, I am looking for a few suggestions on finishes so I can finish working out my numbers.The house was bought from a local investor who seems to have run out of money and was offloading about 3-5 properties in my area.

If you want to stay local, you might need to start with house hacking a home.

Small town - limited contractors - so a local like him has a major leg up.

In the future, you’ve already built in a transparency of the monetary value for the contractor position, should the salary be  “waived”, “discounted” or “delayed-til-closing” as an added investment element.  

You can join local real estate investment clubs or online forums to expand your network.Education: Continuously educate yourself on real estate investing strategies, market trends, and property management best practices.

Maybe.But with us being so new to the real estate game, I'm glad we were able to learn the lessons we did early on and are able to ask them going forward to any lenders we speak with for future deals. this is one of the issue  you run into with Wet closings the seller wants a check the second they sign.. out here on the West coast lenders wont fund until they have all the docs signed and back to them then they fund the next day and seller gets paid the following day.. it has to do with what the local closings process's that are in place..

Listed Rent would be between 3500-4200 per month depending on a local property management company strategy.We have assessed our budget and goals while in Europe and would not want to maintain a mortgage in USA (vacant) AND a rental payment in EU.further details: we are 3 years into the loan at 2.625% int, primary and only residence owned, house will need 2 new AC in next 2 years, water heater, and driveway repairs, would only rent with a property management company as we will NOT want to manage from abroad. 

I spoke with a local builder today, same message: their specs are sold out.

If you can find cash flow locally, I would certainly go with that option. 

@Bob Sislow Well, it’s all about local demand/market and price.