I did this approach with the first 3 homes we lived in, all about 2 years fixing slowly.

When you take ownership the best approach is to push to full market immediately to maximise profits long term.

That could even be part of my marketing.If I did enough of them with 21st or Triad, and consistently brought them lower-income but still decent, on-time paying buyers I could build-up some goodwill with the lenders that might come in handy down the road for bigger projects.

The downside to this approach is not having the capital from the sell of the house.

The issue with answering your questions is that every individual has different goals and ways they should approach the "next steps" depending on their financial situations. 

Always loving hearing your success and how you took on a less then normal approach to investing!

What I find most interesting is all the different paths that are mentioned and different ways to approach this.

I think my slow and steady approach for the first 2 years will allow much more rapid expansion in the 2 years ahead!

Highly recommend the delayed financing approach.

It's a great way to get brought up to speed with the city's rules and regulations as well as get you connected with their hotlines/ other resources for further questions.