But I am concerned about crime mostly.How has your experience been thus far?

I have a friend who has some real estate experience (mainly legal, local knowledge) that could be 'boots on the ground' in terms of understanding the locale, assisting with property management.  

Regarding the Fix and Flip, my lenders who allow 5+ commercial flips require 5+ experience and the down payments are 25-30% min and do fund some, not all, of the reno.

Hi Justin, you may want to explore its features, functionality, and user experience to determine if it aligns with your investment goals and preferences.

The number usually varies from 10-20% depending on credit score, property analysis, etc.Some lenders will work with any level of investor experience, credit scores as low as 660 and can close in as little as 10 days (there are loan options for 640-660 credit scores- they require 20% down).Another good thing is interest only and 6-24 month loan terms- you can refinance by selling or refinancing to a long term DSCR rental property loan at any time once you complete the rehab.Once the property is ready you can sell it or if you want to keep the property as a long term investment, you can underwrite the loan based on your income /debt to income (DTI) ratios or you can go the DSCR route where the loan is underwritten based on the actual or market rents from the appraisal.DSCR loans won't use your income to underwrite the loan.DSCR loans are based off of down payment, credit score and either actual or market rents so it helps to supercharge an investor's real estate goals and net worth.Here's a bit more in detail about how rates are calculated for DSCR loans:1.

Would be happy to hear if you've had any experience with this.

As far as navigating STR laws/HOAs, I think its best to have a PM with experience operating STR's specifically in KC to prevent as many headaches as possible and answer any questions you may have before-hand.

I try to buy below asking price if possible, or if it's been alot of days on market, but I only have a few properties so not a ton of experience.  

I have no experience with squatters, but it seems to me that your risk varies a lot by location.

Houses are bigger, have more bells and whistles and people are willing to take on more debt-not for houses, but for extras (vacations, new cars every couple of years, experiences, etc).