But I have no sympathy for the bad actors in our business whose actions perpetuate that perception.

Despite numerous requests this was never done.I have filed a complaint with the department of commerce against1.

You'd be better going with less interest and points and putting money toward down payment.There are numerous HML's out there that will do 80 or 90% of the purchase price and 100% of the rehab and not require 3K up front.

There are numerous banks that do a cash out refi after 6 months.

@Alex Peralta NE Ohio has numerous properties in this price range. 

It all depends on the overall market, the submarket, and the sellers perception of their immediate options.

Furthermore, there is a perception that contractors don't want to go by a contract or a written agreement which is one of the base components of any good partnerships.

There are other landlords in our areas who have a different perception of what constitutes accommodations fit for students and they have a much higher incident (damage, eviction, etc) rate than we do.

We are reading  as much as we can, on bigger pockets, and numerous  books.

I've talked to numerous people who want to try something similar.