My husband and I are still in the “education” phase of our real estate journey, but we plan to buy our first propert no later than 2020 - quicker if we can save up capital faster than projected.

There's tons of law firms that do appeals on contingency, so it will cost you a portion of what you save. 

It was really simple stuff, and I saved over 1k for a few hours of work. 

The current owner 'pays' for water and I want to sub-meter and save on those costs while I hold the property long term.I've had one company tell me they do no less than 12 installations and other have not returned my calls. 

I much rather save the money and hire different trades to do what you need. 

Alliance does 90%Aspire Federal does 90%Garden Savings does 100%

It's not that difficult to work around cabinets plus you save a little on materials.

I'll have about 20% of the purchase price in the bank but I will not be putting 20% down, this is saved for minor updates and to cover for unexpected vacancy expenses, I'll be going for an FHA. 

They save the costs and maintenance of the ducts. 

Needless to say, I messed a lot of things up.Some things I know for next time:-make sure to include security deposits credit and prorated rent credit in the purchase contract-make sure to keep all addendums that may be needed saved on computer for quick access-get all the necessary documentation for rehab funding from the contractor before going into contract on the property (my lender needed his insurance, workers comp, experience, etc. and I was not able to get rehab funded in the loan because the contractor would not send this to me and it was too late for me to find another contractor)-check that title has gotten the documents correct before they are sent over to the seller-take pictures of the house during the walkthrough for insurance purposes-check for flood zone early on -give yourself a realistic timeline for closing-check reviews on title company before choosing oneDoes anyone else have any recommendations?