Assuming you do buy and generate $100-$200 a month in cash flow, will you still have funds left over after the down payment for emergency costs without having to rely on the $100-$200 that will come in?

Prudent and reliable operators who know what they are doing are usually the safest best.

When the work is complete, send her copies of the invoices with a demand for payment within 30 days.

Sara,When you buy an investment property the Bank/Lender lends you the money for the purchase minus the down payment.

As it stands, if I were to keep this house I would need to rent for a few  years to be able to comfortably afford another down payment (I'm in a very HCOL area now). 

During that refinance you can transition it into an investment and Vested in an LLC either through closing or a Quit Claim Deed after you close at the County.It's kind of a Bank/Lender Loophole because you take advantage of the 10% down Second Home/Vacation home down payment.

Hello, I was wondering what’s a good amount of money to have on hand to use as a down payment to start my investing journey.

If you are using a true hard money lender, they are able to put numbers together for you quickly and provide you with a term sheet showing cost, rate, payment, down payment etc. 

We have many beach condominium options in Orange Beach/Gulf Shores that qualify as a second home investment with programs with as low as 10% down, so you don't always have to come up with the larger down payment, but some buyers choose to go with a higher down payment to get a better rate. 

BP forums helped me learn about 10% down payment options from local lenders and that I could borrow from my 4001k for the down payment.