Do any investors or flippers know of any good countertop companies in the Chicago area that sell in bulk for cheap?

$260 is cheap

The brother heard it's cheap, so he wants in on the deal.2.

C class renovations are of less quality than a B  ( The  cheap Lowes Commodes vs a decent American Standard for example) and in many Indy areas the C class homes we always a C class area and the original home was built cheaply.

Mobile homes in Parks are affordable housing as well as MH on private cheap lots in certain parts of the country.. and then of course you have HUGE areas of the mid west and rust belt were you can buy all sorts of houses for 200k and under.. they already exist..

For something that cheap I'd replace it and forget it.

Good tenants will leave when you ask them to pay for an appliance because you're too cheap to replace your own property.

To me the cost of note servicing seems cheap compared to missing out on even one good deal per year.

I think my best option is to relocate to a cheap market, buy land, build a cheap house, and sell and once I gain more experience I can come back to Austin.

 - you can furnish fairly cheap (offer up, CL, buy nothing …, thrift or consignment stores, etc) but it take more effort and more calendar time.