There have been stalls every step of the way, because as I said my tenant is a professional.

Luckily I have a friend who does design/build for restaurants to help at least guide me on the basic steps for the renovation so I am not flying entirely blind there.  

Going in with practically no down payment, what is the best way for me to gauge how profitable my investment will be?

I would think house hacking a duplex would be a good first step.

Everyone wants to be a real estate investor, but getting your finances right is step #1.  

And you watch how that person, who you tried to help, turns into a completely different person and tries to do you wrong.This is why you want to only rent to good credit renters as you have recourse thru Small Claims Court and depending how much they tear up and past due rent they rack up, step it up into the higher courts and go after them for what they owe! 

To tag people simple type the “@“ sign and then their name.I also wanted to say that getting your REI license is a good step but just be aware that starting out is usually very slow.

Welcome to this beautiful business of investing,  before doing your first step,  find out what you are looking for, your exit strategy,  your goals,  read some good books,  join your local REIA, find a Mentor.   

This is the first step to making an offer. 

In practice, I think a lot of people for an incidental expense just throw it all into one property.