@Kellen Driscoll Call a few local attorneys and ask how much they charge.

All the while, your investment is increasing in value and your tenant is paying into your equity every month.Even with a student loan like that, if you live frugally, you may be able to get conventional loans for your investment properties.Waiting to by property is necessary sometimes.

As for terms, it's pretty standard to charge 3 points and 12% interest for new investors, maybe a little less for the more experienced.

Unfortunately since the property wasn't seasoned, I had a hard time getting conventional funding on it, and instead went with a private company to refinance the property. 

We charge $550-$650 for our 1/1 and 2/1 units, which is $223 below the Fair Market Rent for a 2/1 in Abq. 

The plumber opened up three walls, never called the management company, finished the job in less then 5 hours, charged my unsuspecting tenant, an older lady, whooping $2400 (about $500 per hour) and left. 

You also can’t charge a per deposit since it is not considered a pet.

Conventional would be something you do on your own and not rolled into the mortgage unless you put more than the minimum amount down.

My thought is that turning a dated home into an updated home and living in it for 1-2 years with a 203K loan is a great alternative to either renting or buying with a conventional 20% down loan for my primary residence. 

(I figured about $5k, which is what a standard paint job would cost at a property this size, not the $22k that the guy with an EPA certification wants to charge.)