Thousands of leads and contacts later I realized that I had to have a better management system. 

If I have 3 or 4 jobs running and I am fronting materials , I could have 10's of thousands of dollars out .

If you can live with waiting a decade for several hundred thousand dollars or maybe a million bucks as your worst possible outcome, then go for it.One thing you will have going for you in 2017, that no one had in 2007, is that even with the Trump Bump, we're still in the era of historically low 30YF interest rates. 

The costs should not exceed a couple thousand

I've seen condos range in price by hundreds of thousands of dollars simply because of a view.

Use better more stylish finishes, subtle but attractive paints, attractive laminate floors (I've see some really ugly ones and they RUIN the look of a house).

Most of these were businesses.The startup is not very much as you can buy a couple buffer machines for a couple thousand dollars.

And in there, guess what - they tell you only enough to get you to buy their mentorship program for tens of thousands of dollars. 

I found one "thing" on Amazon for $30 which I wouldn't trust for a second, but the cost can hit several thousand dollars for "utility-grade" installs you would find in large MF.

Jon's reply is full of wisdom and great advice.His points are spot on about your experience, realistic LTVs that are out there, and associated costs.The number one issue will be the low occupancy, the second will be your lack of experience, and the third may be the cash to close this deal.You could be looking at hundreds of thousands to close this deal.