It is going to cost a bunch to separate the electric meters and make it two units.

Another pitfall is under improving properties in low income areas believing that since its a depressed area in terms of income the people will not have high standards. 

Purchasing MHCs in neighboring states that have more business-friendly regulations could prove to be the key.And, of course, who can forget the good old cost-of-living and supply chain crises?

I’m losing out on the opportunity costs if I would have left my money in these retirement accounts is what the critics tell me for tapping into my retirement funds and borrowing from them.

Have a planned/practiced 1-2 sentences about how you help people buy and sell real estate.Keep your expenses low, track not only what you spend (personal, and business), and track your "lead indicators"...x hours daily lead generating, # people you talked with daily about real estate, # social media posts you created about real estate topics.  

Currently, you could say we are both low-income; I'm a barista and he works in sales.

The cost of living is extremely low compared to other cities and you can still many many positive cash flowing and 1% deals here.

He tells me the property has been vacant since October 2017.Note that Oceanpointe deposited rents from October 2017 through March 2018.3/28/2018 - I sign the contract to change PMs to Wilmoth Group;4/2/2018 - The Wilmoth Group PM sends me many photos of the destroyed property, including what appears to be an abandoned stolen vehicle on the premises; they estimate a cost of $12,000 to $15,000 to repair all the issues; PHOTOS4/2/2018 - Reply from Clayton promising to make needed repairs4/3/2018 - Clayton Morris emails me that he is checking out the house this morning with his team; that it’s a good property and that OP will fix it on their dime.

This would cost 10-12k and 2-3 months to complete2.

If you truly need to refinance, you may want to look into a bridge cash out loan and have the permit cost as the budget + any other rehab you still may need to do to get this fully permitted.