Because I market cages I lack objective criticism with regards to how others view the product.

You will expose yourself to a wider pool of expertise which is critical for real estate investors.Many of us service clients all over the US and even world.

The final critical item is the repair budget.  

The other items you mentioned are critical, and if the timing is off by a week or you have to ask twice, the other items out-weigh the delay.

It's capitalistic and it is critical in the fix and flip business.

Real estate is one of the most cyclical businesses on earth and paying attention to where your market is in its cycle is critical for long term success.

I’m not saying small multi’s don’t make sense in other areas, and I’ll readily admit that a lot of my criticisms are derived from my own, personal values/priorities that may be different from others.

Not criticizing but your brother would benefit from a realistic baseline test video and not something set up improperly in a test facility.

There are more good books on income property but I would start there.Because it's a mixed used property with two retail spaces reading and understanding the terms of those existing commercial leases will be critical to determining the value of this property.

As in any city it is critical to get to understand the makeup of each community to determine if your exit strategy matches the demographics of the community.