At first we called many companies to help, but we found ourselves too small for their time and their price way out of our budget.

We also created a modest budget and stuck by it.

Set a budget and invest X dollars in books, audio files, attend real estate investment club events and maybe some home study courses.

I just googled Russ Whitney ....Very entertaining ;-) So mean.... ;-) 

Which is why I recommend that investors use smaller contractors who don't have office space, big advertising budgets, fancy trucks, etc.

However, I am also entertaining the idea of starting out buying a rehab, fixing it up, and flipping it in order to increase the "starting capital" of the partnership which can be used to purchase rentals.

I must say @Sam Leon , that was both entertaining and educational.

Thanks for the encouragement.RE is local, what is common in some respects may not be common somewhere else, what is acceptable in your area will probably be what your judge says.Real estate forums are great entertainment, they are a place to exchange ideas, strategies, pass out some knowledge and a place to network with folks having similar business interests.

And it looks like you're budgeting 3% for maintenance and nothing for capex -- that seems risky to me.

I list REO's and most all of my clients will not entertain offers in the "pre-list" period.