It felt like if I were to breathe in the design center they would charge me $10K for oxygen.what builders are the most reasonable in this regard? 

Being right becomes more important than being effective. 

For this type of project, is it worth hiring a house designer or an architecture firm?

A cheap finish selection designer will likely cost you $5-7k. 

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You have a good niche with flipping, design, and Airbnb.

Hey all, I’m putting together a plan for flipping a house and I’m curious what y’all use for design software?

This is good, but an attorney will guide you on what specific documentation (dates of attempted contact, details of offers, records of late payments, lease clauses) is admissible and most effective in court.

And full service design from a capable designer, that will actually help take work off your plate does not come cheap.Second, short term rentals are NOT the same as typical interior design. 

If the goal is to fund this deal, today: it is likely not effective.