Problem with most non commercial investors is that their mortgages are in the 5% interest range or less.

I used to use $30/foot as a decent ballpark figure for renovations, but it seems like renovation costs have gone up quite a bit, $40-50/ft has been the new reality lately, but of course it's tough to put a 'per-foot' number on any particular project because everything is unique.Mobiles on their own land can be flipped, just pay attention to the age, anything before 1976 will pretty much have to be sold on a contract or to a cash buyer.

You don't have to use it all, and you can only use what you need for a particular deal.

This formula is used most frequently in a commercial property (5+ units) because often times the loan is a non-recourse loan ($1mm+) so the lender has to rely on the property to support itself since the lender can't look at the borrower as a qualifyer.However, if you are talking about SFR or a 1-4 unit property, you can obtain a conventional loan. 

The reasoning for these particular areas is I am originally from there, know the areas, and have friends and family that I get back to visit regularly.I am currently getting the business side of things assembled and hope to acquire my first property within the next 90 days. 

The selling agent has explained that the property may only sell for the non-negotiable list price for six months.

We are having a hard time finding a PM that is non turnkey and will follow up with our inquiries.

If it's a complaint about being dirty, broken mailbox, or other non-essential stuff, acknowledge it but don't jump immediately to fix it.Follow your local rental laws and don't let bad tenants bully you.

Focusing on income over appreciation as this is our retirement, although my wife and I have several non-RE streams of income. 

Ideally, you can just non-renew his lease and get a non-smoker in there, but I don't get the impression you want to be that aggressive yet.