(Not before) The time spent before the property is under contract such as analyzing deals, doing negotiations, research, education hours, traveling, etc do NOT count towards the material participation hours.

I agree with your thesis...deal flow IS real estate investing.Baseball is good training for REI...takes discipline and persistence after adversity. 

I want to buy the property on terms and demo, build a new house.I want to structure an owner finance deal with him where I either pay him interest only on the lot or no payments for 18 months (or until the new house completes and sells whichever is earlier). 

Many of them are easy value add deals where the rent is under market value and there is a cosmetic rehab needed.

However, I strongly suggest to seek a structure engineer or architect/drafter that guide/help you on planning and dealing with zoning permits as well.

Exactly what I am looking for right now...is one video/one 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 page document to walk me step by step to close a first deal. 

Happy to connect as we see a lot of private lending deals that we pass on to others

Typical deal I see will probably need 30-40% down to break even or cash flow. 

Seems like a potential issue if I stop working with them in the future and lose all access to the listing completely.I currently manage an STR in my local market, but a property manager I spoke to insisted that they handle all the setup on the OTAs vs having the listing under my account and giving them cohost/PMS access.This is my first time dealing with a property manager so I was wondering what everyone's experience is like in this business relationship.Secondary question:As an experienced cohost, do you care if it's an old or brand-new listing?

I've seen 100 different structures. there's bigger players, more capital, a lot depends on the deal, track record, debt amount, returns, pitching to funds is way different. we separate construction financing and long term financing for the clients that build with us and help educate them.