Interesting book recommendation: Whack-A-Mole: The Price We Pay for Expecting Perfection by David Marx.

Paying 2.4% for total closing costs (which include title search, title insurance, all attorney doc prep and recording fees) seems very reasonable given the relatively low $ purchase price.

If you find one that does, expect to pay at least 15-20% management fees for handling all the extra headaches.

True value is as much as someone is willing to pay, correct?

Don't think just because you're putting in nicer countertops and cabinets that renters or buyers will be willing to pay for that.  

You also have to factor In your closing costs each time you refinance, and if the goal is to pay down your loan aggressively, you will be hitting reset each time you refinance. 

Make sure you have good comps on similar properties because you'll be paying for appraisals, etc.  

Now you need to figure out how to find deals and pay for them.

@Amee Gardner I’ve learned through several bad experiences not to pay good money for courses or gurus.

My advice is to speak to a few local HMLs and ask them for their rehab estimate spreadsheet, which most should be happy to provide.FWIW, based on my assumptions above, you can’t pay more than around $480k for this property.