Setting aside 25% of your net profit is a reasonable estimate for taxes, but the actual amount depends on your overall tax bracket.

This means the 50% rule fails now (50% + 60% = 110% --- 10% more in costs than rent), and other cost estimate methodologies seem to yield negative net cash flow.Am I thinking about this correctly?

You should know how to estimate rough numbers based on the amount of work the property needs.We do a 15-business-day inspection period on every property, which turns out to be 3 weeks.

They should be able to give you an idea of what needs to be done vs. what can wait and rough estimates/recs for contractors.

The loan officer came back and said that the sq ft was approximation and the appraiser doesn't want to change the sq ft or redo the appraisal.

Zillow estimates it to be worth $81,000.

One contractor claims he can finish the job in a day with three workers, while others estimate it will take a week.I'm not sure how to proceed with this situation.

Taken together, they'll likely cut your estimated cash flow in half.2.

I have had a couple of estimates to complete this work and it ranges anywhere from 40k to 75k.

Income fluctuates tremendously in most 1099 real estate occupations (being a Realtor included) so having that put away will be vital to your comfort and peace of mind as you get started.(1) figure out how your minimum monthly income needs (this may change as you move to a different city and get out of college life, so estimates are fine for now)(2) cut out everything extra until you've put away 6 months reserves(3) live way below your means so you have extra money to save and investGood luck and congratulations!