Are you doing it yourself or hiring a contractor that specializes in it?

Contractor connections?  

We are local contractors in the area looking to get our feet wet in the real estate investing waters.

The requirement was a non refundable 30% down in 30 days without a contract or time line for construction.

My thoughts were to have an inspector come out rather than a contractor to do the general assessment. ...Alex is the property in Indy as well?

You can still get a feel for contractors working with on properties you plan to hold. 

I'm also open to flipping once I have some more funds on hand as I have some friends here I know that could help me with the right contractors to work with and start to make some money that way to get more properties.

After a little while of this you can slow down and just use the one contractor you have gained a good relationship with and know their numbers on rehabs.

300k purchase + 10-15k closing + 80k remodel + 5k for refinance costs. 80k remodel number I got from my father who is a general contractor in the area. 500k ARV x .80% refi (because it would be my primary residence) = 400k minus 15k closing, 80k remodel, 5k refi cost = 300k my original purchase price.

BTW I am a 10-99 contractor and have been focused on the rehab for the past several months, which affects my verifiable income.