Regarding historical performance every project we have done once stabilized has performed at or above our original projections used to sell them in the beginning.

I will also be a nice guy and get enough of a down payment out of him to cover the cost of the credit repair that I will perform for him so that he can cash me out early, once his repairs are complete.  

If you manage your own properties, perform repairs, etc this is sometimes the case.

Currently most interested in hard money lending and non-performing notes.  

So, does the scenario I spelled out seem accurate then?

Your IRA can lend it to other investors, it can partner with other investors, it can buy notes that are performing or non-performing.

Also, how accurate is the repairs/upgrades estimate?

Just keep in mind that looking at the real estate cycle is entirely focused on past performance.

Working with people is probably more important, for now, to master than all the analysis spreadsheets (which are based on someone's "maybe accurate" information).Let us know and you can do a three column..

How do you accurately calculate the numbers so you know what number makes sense to purchase?