I think hard money rates in the double digits is absurd for experienced investors.I just closed on a house while only putting 5% down; the HML funded 95% of the purchase price and 100% of the rehab (in reimbursement draws). 

Yet, I would like to get insights from experienced investors.Questions for the discussion:How frequent do you interact with PM for your apartment building?

The reality is that what you are experiencing is what wholesaling is like.

We are set to close on this house/lot in 28 days (July 26th) so need to work on the demo plans, permitting, architecture, etc but need to hire the right team to run this project on time / on budget.  

Of course, if it turns out it's a great  rental and you don't need the cash, just hold it as a rental even longer, skip the 121 exemption and use the 1031 whenever you're ready to sell.If it sounds complicated, it sort of is, and you must have a Qualified Intermediary on your team prior to selling your property in order for the 1031 to be valid, so the first step would be finding a trustworthy CPA and QI to make sure all your tax docs are in order.

Try GetProperly to remotely oversee your cleaning and maintenance team.

Experienced real estate agents and investors in an area know of the things that can impact the usability of a comp that less experienced people will often miss - (e.g. if there is a "historic" district within a 1 mile radius which would make using a comp from that area less useful even though it is within a mile) Having someone who does not have a financial interest in whether or not a deal gets funded review the property is a way to help pull emotion out of a deal.Also, we don't send evaluators out to review a deal (thus having the borrower incur an evaluation fee) without reviewing the deal with them before.

For the benefit of BP users, the key is finding an experienced broker of real estate securities that can advise you on different options after learning your financial objectives. 

My goal was to buy a bigger multifamily deal and have a property management team manage it for me, instead of me being a landlord/manager.

I don't think it would be at all crazy for a newer flipper to hand the general contractor bid to an appraiser experienced in ARV appraisals.