I need some help with Fix n Flips

I've have a tough week. My 12 yr old niece whom I raised for the first few years of her life has spent the last 4 days in the hospital. They found an apple-sized tumor in her pancreas. She just had surgery yesterday, where they removed (hopefully) all of it and she's now in recovery. Thru all of this I watched my sister, who struggled for years to be able to take care of her daughter. She has not left her side all week... but she's also missed a whole week of work. She is paycheck to paycheck as it is. I watched her... and almost acted rashly.

I have been looking over three properties since Monday. I was supposed to pick one and submit an offer for a fix & flip on Monday. I got scared.. procrastinated. Then Tuesday, Destiny landed in the hospital, and I've been a ball of nerves ever since. Luckily a great friend I've made on this site let me vent my frustrations to her for several hours that Tuesday night... and helped me find my focus. I found out Destiny was going to be ok Thursday evening, and the shock wasn't quite as overwhelming today, so I pulled out my list of properties and tried to focus. I was upset that I hadn't acted on any of them yet, but I knew I had valid reasons. As I pulled up the listings to review them again, I see that my favorite (the one I put a star in the corner of the page because I felt so strongly about), had been edited. They now had a "highest and best offer" with a deadline of 5 pm today. Did I mention I pulled this report at 4 pm? So, with an hr to go, I panicked.

I immediately pulled up my zip forms and started creating a contract. All I kept thinking is, I KNOW this is a great deal. I can feel it. I have to at least submit SOMETHING... I was tired of feeling helpless. I needed to act. As I filled in the blanks on the form I realized... in 8 years of filling in these forms, I didnt know what to put. If Im using a HML do I check the box for cash, or subject to financing? Will the sellers help with closing costs? Do they have a survey? What if my highest and best is too low? Should I offer asking price? I dont even know for sure how much work it needs! I was stumped. I racked my brain and my brain said, Ask ur DG friend. Even tho fix & flips arent her "technique" of choice, she tried to help. But when the clock hit 4:30, I put my keyboard away.

I knew that I was acting out of fear. I wanted to tell myself at least I was ACTING... instead of procrastinating or letting fear hold me back... but reality was, I wasnt ready. I didnt want my baby girl to suffer or my sister to struggle. I wanted to fix everything. But if I jumped into something without taking the time to cross the Ts and dot the I's, I'd regret it. It couldve been the best deal of my life, but thats not how I want to find out. So, I decided not to throw together a half-prepared offer... Instead I chose my second choice from the list. Im taking a contractor to see it tomorrow to get pricing info. Its not a bank owned property, so there will be more flexibility and less pressure than one with a time limit on it. Same area, same price range, same size. A little uglier but hey, thats the point, right? To make the ugly look pretty?

Anyway... the point to this post is... I would like to see if there is anyone here who is experienced in Fix & Flips who would be willing to allow me to pick their brain. I dont need a lot of training or hand-holding... I just want someone who wouldnt mind getting a quick text from me if I cant figure out which box to check at the crunch-time moment when it counts. I can't pay u... but I CAN promise to pay it forward. After all, isnt that what this site is all about? I don't want to be a millionaire. I just want what everybody wants.. a happy, healthy, taken-care-of family and the ability to do a job they love, and to do it well. So, if you are one of Dean's successful students with knowledge in these types of transactions and are willing to be my mini-mentor, please shoot me a PM. Thanks for taking the time to read this very ramble-y post.