@Richard Jahnle I appreciate you responding and helping to engage on this.

(PM me) If you're going wood laminate or vinyl plank, I've had good luck purchasing from Wayfair (fantastic proces, but you have to make sure to check actual samples) and from ProSource (they have a big showroom in Stamford and prehaps one closer to you).  

Stay engaged with BP and ask any and all the questions possible! 

Instead, they quoted high end vinyl planks (20mm) at $7.50/sqft installed.

You can start to engage with the brokers this way and develop relationships with them.This takes time.  

Yes, you absolutely should engage a Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO), ideally one that has closed Dodd-Frank-compliant owner financing deals before.

What areas of investment are you all interested in or currently engaging in now? 

You need to engage yourself in "learn knowledge": Podcasts, relevant literature, BP forums (like you've bravely done here) and I would even recommend a legitimate RE Investment course that'll only run you about $150 schnapps or less.

We already have 1000 sq ft vinyl plank flooring-a man bought too much and sold $2100 worth for $600 to get it out of his garage.

That tax applies when a tax-exempt entity engages in a trade or business (i.e. flipping houses) on a regular basis.