Improvements are cost-effective when the cost of making them is equal to or less than the money saved on energy from those improvements.Cost Effective Test for Existing HomesImprovements to existing homes are cost-effective when they pay for themselves over their expected life span with energy dollars saved.

In your first sentence you refer to hard money and a DSCR loan.

He lost a bunch of money because he overpaid for a duplex but can now only rent it as a single family.

You need to make this (product/area decision) a very diligent decision or go for lower returns (LTR) and lower your expenses to save more money to move the capital to more investments to eventually leave your current active income.

I am eager to contribute my time and effort to support the work in exchange for the invaluable experience and knowledge I would gain from the experience.Thank you,Rijul Gupta

My goal is to get this ship off the ground and save almost all the money I make from wholesaling to invest in cash flowing rental properties, so once I do make these deals and become successful and circumstances were ever to change for whatever reason, My income isn't only fixed on my ability to "Get a deal" to go through.Anyone willing to toss me a bone on this will be valued more than you'd understand.

Would need money for rehab too, maybe I should continue to save or put it in a REIT? 

This might throw a wrench into the mix because the seller will end up making less money.

.- If someone sues the tenant for monetary damages for some other reason, and they haven't done anything illegal, their Renters Insurance puts Insurance carrier money on the table and the landlord doesn't need to be involved.- The tenant's personal property is protected (less the deductible) while they are away from home, like in their car, or when traveling.

I personally would put down 20 percent and keep the rest of my cash, even if it meant I wasn't "making money" in the beginning.