If we don't have a tenant within 10 days we lower the price. 

Can someone point me on where to start?

If you charge some percentage lower than the local power company, your tenants will get a break and be happier.

Pay the termination fee or stick with the original agreement.On the other hand, you may consider lowering your rate and encouraging him to stay.

Also very interested in this topic, currently using about a million spreadsheets to track renovations and it's all starting to blur together.

Go to the CSLB website and much is outlined there.1 Lots of businesses including construction companies shoot for 20-25%, the higher the margin with increased volume=$.2 Most B1's that I know started as framers, some in concrete, some from underground construction.

, The builder told me that as long as my HELOC is zero balance on closing that will be okay, but I did not ask them if it will drastically lower my credit in case they will pull again for the third time with the builder. 

A little bit about my experience in Real Estate… I started a couple years ago doing some house flips in Detroit ( It was a 2 year plan) then decided to sell everything, moved to Washington DC which can’t afford anything in the DMV area but last year I purchased a very nice 3500 SQFT Duplex in Shaker Heights, suburb of Cleveland. 

With property taxes and insurance on the rise, some investors are even seeing neutral or negative cash flow at the start.

I feel I need to protect myself and get the property to be owned by an LLC...But I need STEP BY STEP instructions including how to start the LLC.