I have no problems telling someone I hire that I will not be talked down to, that I hired them for their knowledge and if they cannot treat me, their customer, with respect, that I will take my business elsewhere.When you first meet with them, you can explain that you are a real estate investor looking to establish a relationship with a contractor for your current and upcoming projects.

With respect to the type of loan, I'd be inclined to go with your choice to do a HELOC on the property after the improvements are made.  

I will do some research on your respective profile and reach to you if needed.Again, thank you BP family.Jose

In this respect, capitalization rate is useful because it can be used to track a real estate investment over time to see whether or not its performance is improving.

If it does not, respect the seller and let them know very quickly.

I can't speak to all boards however in ours we have to respect a clients relationship with their agent.

.- With respect to SW, there are several well regarded systems available (my PM uses rentmanager; do a search on BP to find threads on this).

I don't suggest buying down a rate unless you need that lower rate to qualify for the loan, the effect of a buy down usually takes 12 to 15 years to break even, longer economically. [...]That's one of the reasons why I respectfully declined several offers for refinancing to a lower interest rate.

I respect everyone's business structure.As far as local or out of state: I think there are pros and con's for both.  

As background: I have 4 multi-unit properties, each with 4 units or less.I would consider them all to be "B" grade properties with very decent / respectable returns.What I love most is that they all qualify for Freddie/Fanny financing -- Rates are incredibly low and I love the long-term predictability cash-flow requirements for a 30 year fixed mortgage.