Ridiculous that guys like this are actually rewarded for bad behavior.

For such a little xtra reward?

Aside from all the hidden costs mentioned by other, I think you need to consider risk/reward. $75K in rehab is serious work and 10% seems low on contingency unless you are very seasoned and there is no hidden work.Making 10% on a complicated deal seems risky.

As a side note, use caution finding someone of Craigslist- I have learned the risk far exceeds the rewards when sourcing something like this out.

Just as in any other business venture you have to way the risks vs the rewards.

Since risk and reward are positively correlated and linked the risk aversion at the low end of the wealth spectrum is an impediment to the growth needed to make the first millionOther points in the article abound in other places like it is literally easier mathematically to make the second million because of the power of compounding and the fact that the percentage change for each subsequent million is lower.  

Real estate investing is rewarding and fun.

If you start flipping, it would be worth the effort though, because  most agents are not investor friendly for flip deals due to the volume of work with very little reward.

I know that my current farming area is primed and ready for me to drop money into now and I will reap the rewards.  

Let's identify, compare-contrast the issues.SFR:only one tenant(or family), so only one rent received per monthonly one tenant to manageone mortgage to pay on Conventional Loan, LTV on market and lenderone 'set of expenses' common to a buildingwhen empty, there's no rents receivedclosing costs to acquirequalifying on your credit and DTIproperty value is base upon Compssome argue ease of resale and appreciation value (still based upon comps) MFU:several tenants (aka one per door) and several rents per monthseveral tenants to manageone mortgage to pay on a Commerical Loan with an LTV 70-75%, so yes you have more downpayment.one 'set of expenses' common to a buildingwhen one unit is empty you still get n-1/n rents coming inclosing costsMFU 2-4 units still qualify on your credit and DTI whereas MFU 5+ will qualify on GSI, NOI and DSCR.property value is based upon GSI * GRM (aka the rents it produces)resale is based upon the CAP and Cash-on-Cash rates (aka investor metrics)IMO, the risk reward leans heavily in favor of the MFU 5+