Our initial loan to purchase was provided through Loan Depot, which our agent worked to arrange. 

You’d make $500k on the deal and the ROI would be $500k (net return)/$500k (initial investment) = 1 * 100 = 100% return in investment.One major problem with this is it doesn’t care how long it took to get that return.  

RE requires capital - yours or someone else's - so the more you have the greater your initial options will be. 5.

With that being said, in the last chapter of Part 1 Scott says that for many people, saving the initial nest egg is one of the more difficult parts on the road to financial freedom.What do you think?

If you haven't done so already, I'd have your team start working on initial numbers for your refi.

The rates seem fair, the initial process was somewhat smooth, but as time goes by things are dragging out and the communication is getting worse. 

I agree with @Abel Curiel on house flipping.You may want to consider a less sexy but long term viable option.. buy and holds with some initial value add potential, wait 2 years for further appreciation and rents to grow (given market uptrend continues at mild rates), then refi into another deal.

Can I still take a delayed financing loan out while still retaining a certain amount of equity in the home if my appraisal after repairs is higher than the my initial investment in the property.

Given the massive military presence there, I would recommend making your initial focus on renting to other military if the BAH numbers work out for what you need.

The hardest part for me initially was remembering to update it.