@Galen MillerThree words - be careful here.The big issue is liability here.You have no idea what is going on with the seller LLC.Does the LLC have (unsecured) debts against it?

I have 25 years of management experience and am looking to apply that to real estate investing.

Hi all, I am located in Denver and was curious if anyone has experience with completely renovating a home vs building a brand new one.

Construction experience is going to be key here. 

Depending on the property type and terms this can be justifiable but usually reserved for those with ample experience and higher risk tolerance. - Higher and Hard Deposits.

@Justin Holley it all depends and there is a lot of flexibility.Our PMC is able to pay insurance & taxes for owners as well as utilitieis on vacant & MF properties.The only thing we shy away from is mortgage payments - too much potential liability if we pay late due to our error or owner portfolio doesn't have needed funds.Pretty much anything specifically related to a property should probably be paid via the Property LLC for easier accounting/tracking.

Aka it was a bad experience-Did I sell these at a profit that then allowed me to grow my portfolio faster than projected?

As for my Smokies properties I am experience something different than others and I will wait till May closes out and I have solid, unchanging and complete numbers (Gross, ADR, Occupancy %) to report what I am seeing versus previous years.  

I'd do higher density infill and go as vertical as possible. close on the cash land and then entitle it and seek partners. that's how we structure every deal. without land you have nothing. without a balance sheet you have nothing. if you don't have those then find someone who can bring all of that and bring the boots on the ground and the experience. 

This is my first experience -- either they are professional deal killers in general, or I ended up dealing with 3 in a row who happened to be deal killers.