In terms of essentially 100% financing from a mortgage lender.

Hi @Michelle Phimmasone, the 25% down option seems like the best option if it is available.It is essentially a 21.45% ROI. 

You'll essentially take equity out of the first house to buy the second one.

I would need to have someone help set up the wifi, the cameras, the smart locks, etc. and It would essentially be the same as a STR, but with bigger gaps between turnovers.

Memphis can be tricky for out of state investors because of street by street differences and difficulties finding good tenants, especially at lower price points.As far as socioeconomic factors, Memphis has a lot of transportation industry businesses which provide solid blue collar work, and much of this stayed open as essential even during the pandemic.

People simply won't easily buy a house with previous hystory of crumbling foundation even if it is fixed... or "claimed" to be fixed.The 70% rule also doesn't account for the projected time it takes to flip a house.And no... your predetermined "holding cost" incorporated in your 70% rule is not it.The 70% rule is a death trap and is a sure way to derail your business.Also, if we are both interested in the same property, and you give a 70% offer, you will ALWAYS be beat by me that will ACTUALLY give the highest possible offer I can make. 70% rule focuses on being "safe" and will have the effect of not getting many deals.The right method focuses on property determined risk analysis to leverage "being safe" with the amount of allowable profit (for that safety margin). 

Over the years of investing and practicing in various aspects of real estate I have learned that forming a strong team including, realtors, wholesalers, financiers, investors and property managers, is essential to the success of any real estate enterprise.

Essentially, there are so many ways to avoid paying taxes on equity gains, whereas not as many for cash flow I realized.

However, I'm thinking of bringing in another developer, and I'm happy to split profits and losses, we would undertake this deal as a joint venture since this project is very essential to me and the developer's experience is invaluable.

Make sure you have all life safety issues covered.