The golden rule  to have a good cushion to absorb some sort of expense and loss.

He he has no interest in doing the work, or even contracting it out, and was considering taking a loss of the property for a quick sale.

Being that you are not in a community property state you will be required to maintain a profit and loss, balance sheet and prepare a 1065 US Partnership tax return.

The Lowes in my area has the best contractor program.5% off everything: sometimes more on big items/orders.  

Buyers are programed to say yes, whether they really are or not. 

If you are to develop equity quickly I would advise to flip houses and new allotments in the 1031 exchange programs allow you to access bridge loans to source properties while you are bound with your initial investment as long as your equity from your first transaction is already allocated through your QI 1031 exchange.

They may try to up sell you on more programs, be very careful. 

I am new to Real Estate Investing and am so exhausted from all the seminars and books, and programs and have never been more confused.

There is a program called Pacer where you can pay to see the filing documents online. 

This question is for the out-of-state investors, what frequent flyer and/or business travel programs would you recommend to save on travel expenses for trips to acquire and check up on your properties.Any advice would be appreciated.