He was more inclined to put me in an up and coming area for a property in the range of 400k-500k, which would sink me for a few years.

I don't think this is the best area to sink all of your money, but I did find that these rehabs were relatively painless for a first time investor.

That's more palatable but assumes you have to sink money into it AND you're getting top rent every year. 

Hello all,I am brand new to investing and have been reading and listening to books and podcasts say that you need to go out and look at houses and talk to people to learn your market. I was wondering, do you only appr...

.-  After the shower and granite is done, you'll need to install sink and fixtures. 

If you find yourself in need of expertise in "commercial lending that we're going to shove into residential because terms/conditions/rates are way better," where guidelines trump logic, let me know how I can help.I've stolen business from folks on your side, for example, by having them put the 5th unit's oven/fridge/sink hook-ups under sheetrock and calling it a residential 4-unit. muahahahaha. 

That included materials, painting, and labor for trim and interior doors, plumbing rough in materials and labor to make a half bath into full bath, drywalling and finishing the other bath with some small plumbing updates, installing laminate floor, retexturing and painting ceiling, installing kitchen cabinets/countertop/sink, and some other small things.Me and my hourly labor friend did all the full house wall painting, demo, lighting install, faucets, door handles, landscaping, changing out all plugs and switches to white color, tile and backsplash, and a long list of other small things.

I'd personally rather know about the drip before it gets to mold or a line breaking in the night right away than a tenant in fear of being charged X amount for someone to come out and swap out a new line under their sink. 

I replaced a kitchen sink myself, but couldn't figure out how to get the plumbing underneath to line up correctly without leaking.  

Hire a cleaning crew to come in at least twice a month to toss the pizza boxes, chisel the tub and sink down to the porcelain, and scrape the ketchup off the ceiling.