3) the house is in a 'non-disclosure' state (my term for: not required to disclose RE sales);  so doing 'comps' online seems questionable 4) IF the house actually sells for anything near $125k - $150k??

An owner in Arlington, VA requires all tenants to have active renters insurance as a condition of the lease and they have the owners insurance, I'm not sure what else is needed.

But, as I have learned - not all hard money lenders loan in every state and they have credit requirements posted on their websites.

Further, if you use any type of financing other than owner finance or daddy financing, the lender would require appraisal and appropriate survey and engineering inspections.

Absolutely make use of all the online tools available throughout the processEvaluate resumes and reviews/recommendations from trusted resouces, peers and past clients (like you would on LinkedIn for example)Narrow down your search to the top candidates and schedule in-person interviewsChoose your top 3-4 final candidates and check referencesThen ask at least three to provide bids for your scope of work requiredEvaluate the bids and pick your top candidate...then there is one crucial step left...Make sure to take an in person look at the physical finished work your final chosen contractor has done recently.Like almost everything else in real estate, choosing a great contractor requires time and effort.  

And let's clear the air on SOLO-K's...what is the true requirement on being eligible to set up one of these for REI'ing?

Even a nice city like Corona has the Home Gardens are, which is a lot like SB, in it.I would not cross SB off, I would just be very careful when considering a property there to see if it fits your requirements as a whole.

This does not require much of any marketing money to start and to get deals closed.

Some firm handshaking followed and I was able to acquire a duplex and a single family home in foreclosure, both requiring massive renovations.I drew the design by hand on paper, I worked daily with the contractor overseeing the projects.

Our plans are to eventually grow our portfolio via acquisition of a larger apartment building in the metro area, adding management of our current units to the responsibilities of the management company that is required to manage a larger property.