Get a feel for what they will lend on before you spend your time chasing the moon.  

I have done a few flips with some people I know but it was in Texas and unfortunately the money people didn't want to listen to me or other contractor (brother) about where to spend money and where not to so the three houses I did and spent a lot of time away from home to do didn't net me anything.  

You can make (and spend) big bucks doing that, so you need to make sure the risk is worth it

Ryan Dossey, how did you NOT jump at the chance to spend $40,000 on this prize?!?

I've offered to let them paint but apparently the male "doesn't want to spend his days off painting".  

I agree, it's very hard to find an agent that both understands and wants to work with investors; it seems that most agents (rightfully so in many cases) think that they're going to spend bunch of time looking at houses only to put lowball offers in that aren't likely to be accepted.

Grab your last two years' of tax returns and I will be more than happy to sit down with you and spend some time trying to figure it out.Hope that helps.JZ

.@ Ned Carey, Regarding neighborhoods, I have been spending more and more time in the neighborhoods surrounding Johns Hopkins main campus (Hampden, Waverly, etc.) and I am probably going to start concentrating on one of these neighborhoods soon.

Stop spending any of her money.

Don't spend time counting the other guy's money.