I talk to people daily that don't have internet.

I always find the land first, determine its suitability for my needs (zoning, valuations, rental rates) then develop the plans to suit the lot. 

If they don't, sometimes, local code enforcement will come in, check the conversion, and be able to determine when it happened from the building materials used.

How do you guys set milestones on rehab projects and how do you determine project progress like 30% done, 50% done, etc?

Appraisal is what determines the value of the property and consequently the maximum amount the lender can lend.  

No rule of thumb of what to charge for rents as that is determined by the market place. 

(Struggling to figure out the best way to determine this but I've been running numbers around the 7%-8% area based on the surrounding location).

Unfortunately, they will not use the rent to determine the value on a property when it is a 4 family or less. 

Well, I went down the list on The Internet Machine and The Google for every local bank in my area offering HELOCS for my rentals (I already have one on my Primary)  Anyone have any luck with any other banks out there?

Hi BP community,I purchased a small cafe in a prime location in my town. The cafe is about 900 sqft with all commercial equipment, booths, coffee machines, etc. It is a turn key cafe. The purchase also included intang...