Is this normal practice?

I also have a management company I normally use and really like, but financially the onsite manager makes a lot more sense.

What kind of structured interest and points should I expect to pay on the first deal and what would be a normal structure that an experienced investor might pay?

Nearly all of your normal expenses on a property can be deducted from your TAXABLE income but added BACK to your qualifying income for a conventional loan!

Also you can jack in a USB drive and have a couple movies on there, eliminating the DVD player need.BTW I called to cancel my DirectTV (member for almost 10 years) they gave me the "basic" with HD channels for about $29 a month including my Genie which is normally $10 it's self.

Is having 7 foreclosures more than normal? 

Again, disputes about the operation of the LLC should not be a problem if you have only one member.An LLC that only has one member and plans on staying small will normally be formed as member-managed.

For the first few months, it was difficult to pay this amount to the bank, but i admit it was easier later.Now that's just the normal side of the story. 

The town is tough, there is not a ton of inventory and unlike Meriden where I normally work, there are simply less buyers.In the end I was satisfied with the sale time and price, satisfied with the renovations and costs other than the septic and extra holding costs (would have been on target taking those both out), but the length of time with the house and septic hit both hurt.I consider it the cost of business, learn from it and do better next time!

You might be able to be a pretty decent renovation mortgage specialist after a year or two of doing normal mortgages is layered on top of your existing experience.