Based on the limited information shared about no contracts, I can infer there are no warranties for work, there's no assurance there are licensed and insured workers performing the work therefore no additional insured protections.

I help facilitate out of state investors find performing rental properties in various markets in the Midwest/midsouth so I am going to be taking notes on the comments here! 

Turning a historic duplex into a high-performing asset while forcing $100k in appreciation is no small feat—seriously impressive. 

If not, you have a highly leveraged deal that will put a lot of pressure on the property to perform perfectly (it won't). 

I tagged both of them in a comment, congratulated them on their success here, and asked them to share about their properties and performance here.  

There are banks selling off performing notes at above market interest for 30-40% off the balance?  

The reason for this is if you only pay per deal, they will be unsure if they ever will get paid because their payday depends on your performance.

If you want, I can share a few neighborhoods that are performing well for buy-and-hold investors right now.

@Andrew TrevinoWe’re a Property Management Company (PMC) and we’ve seen owners make the same mistakes, over & over again when looking to hire a PMC.In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make is ASSUMING all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY.

You have to pick the city based on long-term performance and the tenant segment based on income reliability.