A key takeaway from this project was the importance of budgeting for unexpected renovation costs.

I have not done a full 25% deal in years..However, appreciation gives you an unexpected tail wind.

If I use the IRA to fund down payment for the purchase how much or what percent should I leave in reserves for the unexpected? 

My first DSCR loan experience was unexpected.

Use this instead of credit cards for unexpected expenses.3) Protect your home. 

We had the seller of the property offer to reduce the price to cover the unexpected increase in repair costs, and my wonderful husband got the house cleaned and things are back on track. 

Before proceeding, ensure you have a comfortable cash reserve for unexpected property expenses and maintenance.Property Management: Decide whether you want to manage the property yourself or hire a property management company.

This isn't unexpected, as a lot of the people I tagged are likely top agents in their area anyway.

General rule is that you may get some things like improved general software interfaces, more experienced professionals (some people get REALLY specialized in certain topics, it's crazy to see sometimes) Also, the option that if you do have something unexpected come up, they might have more staff capable of handling it so you wouldn't have to move around at all.

This year, the company I was working for was acquired. As a part of the acquisition, all my stock options were accelerated and paid out as cash through payroll. This payment will leave me with about $600,000 in W-2 ...