The reality of the deal was if we had partnered 50/50 on this we would should have both made around $90k, the project will take 5 months and maybe a couple of extra to sell.

For example, if you need to renovate the kitchen, you simply pick the style of kitchen you wanted, input the sq ft data, and the tool would then create an estimate,  a scope of work to present to the contractors, and an order list which you can import into homedopt/lowes to order the materials.I have been a PM for a GC for close to 7 years, so I understand estimator tools.

His company wanted around $1,950 to set up a Wyoming LLC with our NC LLC parked inside of it for extra protection.

Hopefully questions like that and extra screening will mitigate some of this.For context, my wife and I just moved into our first househack.

Always plan for $5-10k in extra expenses that are not planned in the budget especially with older homes.

If not, and they can't show you actual data to support that number, I would be wary.  

You never know when you need the extra cash and never know if you will upgrade your life.   

This is just a step to ensure you are being extra safeBasically, you can still do both in any market, but you have to be more accurate with your numbers when the market is shifting or nearing a shift. 

It may sound nice to pay a 5% management fee but the extra fees can add up to be more than the other company that charges 10% with no add-on fees.

No extra hassle there.