The value for us was basically paying 3k/month for a project manager, which we built into our reno costs and fit our model.  

Most cost seg firms will give you a free estimate if you share basic property details - no commitment needed.For residential STR properties in the $500k-$1M range, check out room42.io - they're built for this exact use case and the cost is low enough that you can run studies on multiple properties to dial in your estimates without breaking the bank.

Basically it was a JV type format where they do a fix and flip and find an investor to give them the money for the property = I think they owner financed it as the exit as well (cannot remember). 

Perhaps I didn't formulate my question very clearly in my original post, but it's basically: if terms are "good" for Americans, and "****" for non-Americans, is there something "in between" for foreign nationals partnering up with a creditworthy American?

Instead of focusing on the basic fundamentals: buying good properties, managing expenses, maintaining the asset, and operating responsibly, people are drawn into strategies and systems that make the process seem far more complex than it needs to be.

My partner and I have a document we work through to analyze deals.A structured Excel template for real estate deals which includes: basic property info like address, type, size, purchase price, and closing costs.

Basically 125/70.  

A cost segregation study basically separates your property into components that can be depreciated faster than the standard 27.5-year schedule.

With your 50k you are probably in that 300 to 400k range with 5 percent down and I would want the other unit to rent high enough that rent minus PITI minus a basic maintenance reserve gets your out of pocket housing cost close to break even or under about 500 a month while you learn.

Basically they do the same thing or sometimes they sign a lease with the landlord and move while the squatter is still there; they occupy some part of the unit like a vacant space (basement), living room couch showing the signed lease from the landlord :-) (squatter don't have a signed lease so this new guy with the signed lease is actually has the right to stay in the house), play loud music, talk too loudly on the phone, watch TV while everyone is asleep etc. etc. so the squatter gets fed up and decides to leave.