This one provision put the owner on the hook for millions of dollars in costs and greatly reduced the value of the property for resale he thought he was getting.My loan guy wasn't involved with that this buyer had just called him looking to do something with his existing loan.

The # of properties would be reduced, but ROI would be similar, and risk of not having a renter is just a cash flow issue and not a lender payment issue. 

We do periodic inspections and charge for damages as soon as we discover them, so it reduces issues arising at move-out.

Finally he came out with the "recently reduced to sixty nine nine".What?

So I applaud you for wanting to do some of the work yourself to reduce your cost.Hiring a pro for the first go around is probably the best idea.

I've been able to reduce subcontractor scopes significantly and drive specs below $70 for one off construction (300k townhouses to give an idea of finish level).A willingness to make big pallet purchases on material well in advance of build can help as well, liquidation sales , auctions, and Craig's List are your friends here.

That may be true from banks who place that "overlay," to reduce their expose to inexperienced  landlords however FHA and VA  don't actually require that so you may need to find a lender who does not have that overlay requirement.

As long as your other partner doesn't look at you as a credit risk, you're reducing the risk placed on him by releasing funds to you, disproportionate of your 50% ownership.

You can use far smaller wire to run 220v implements thus reducing the cost of materials to get 2,200 watts of power to the source

Maybe as Introduced, Not as Passed"The National Association of Realtors said that the energy bill, as introduced, may have caused some problems for sellers of existing homes.Section 204 of the bill authorizes the Department of Energy to create a building energy labeling program to "enable and encourage knowledge about building energy performance by owners and occupants and to inform efforts to reduce energy consumption nationwide."