Appraisals Don’t Care About Your Rehab BudgetNew investors think:“I put $60K into the rehab, so the appraiser should see the value.”Not really.Appraisers look at:Sold compsConditionLayoutLocationSquare footageBedroom countMarket demandThey don’t care whether you spent $20K or $120K.They care whether the finished product matches neighborhood values.If your scope of work doesn’t align with the area, your ARV is fantasy.6.

No deposit.

Quote from @Maya Jones: You should get something agreed upon for the tenants living and the remaining rent/security deposit if there is something changing from the existing lease. 

The end result is a guaranteed monthly deposit and longer average tenant stays.6.⁠ ⁠

Most legit contractors will ask for a deposit if you hire them, but most investors say you shouldn't pay a deposit, which I think is terrible advice.

- Appraisal gaps- Increase contract deposit amountIn other markets; people shorten inspection/due diligence periods, pay seller's closing costs (i.e. transfer taxes), offer to pay a higher EMD.That said, the best 'tactic' is knowing your #s, knowing how to underwrite the deal, AND knowing how to establish a relationship with the other party (i.e. seller, seller's broker, wholesaler, etc.). 

I'm curious about this also, I've been testing Stessa but it's not intuitive and I keep finding weird glitches that make it almost more work than just entering transactions manually.At some point I found it had automatically added a full security deposit return after a move-out, despite me not having manually entered it nor there being a bank transaction - so I contacted Customer Service and then forgot about it because I was testing other software.

Well i ended up purchasing an RV and renting that out for 600$ a month + a sec deposit.

If anything, consider a single member llc (that flows to Schedule C) and try to match the income with the expenses.

The key is matching your deal type and exit plan to the right structure — not all “private lenders” are created equal.If you’d like, I can share a quick breakdown of what strong private funding actually looks like today — terms, leverage, and what lenders are really asking for on flips vs.