New investor, trying to bounce back from a real estate disaster!

[Joe Young]

I'm about 2 years delayed on getting back into real estate as my first attempt was a disaster!  Or so I thought....  Turned out to be a blessing in disguise!  (I think?)....  Anyways after some recovery time and 200+ Bigger Pockets Podcast I'm ready to get back in the game.  

My first property I purchased with the intention to house hack for a year, then rehab and refinance.  I live on the Florida Gulf Coast and decided on a little 2/2 in an old but nice waterfront community.  I figured there is very little available waterfront and in the long term would be a good move...  Tough to cash flow due to taxes / insurance but I was betting on appreciation.  Three months in, my buddy who I rented a room to fell asleep with food on the stove and caught the house on fire.  Kitchen destroyed, smoke / water damage everywhere.... It was toast (pun intended).  

The next morning I called a friend of mine who was in the restoration business.... worst decision of my life! Long story short the company he worked for took off with about $80,000 and I was left with a burnt down house and not enough money to fix it! It gets better... This was an older waterfront home, and due to the damage met the FEMA 50% rule... If you aren't familiar, any damage sustained over 50% of the structure requires the entire home be brought to code. Elevated above flood plain, updated electrical/plumbing, new roof... That means a tear down!

I'll skip the next year of dealing with insurance and get to where we are now....   I ended up with about $150k in insurance money and with some hard work / mainly luck I was able to save another $150k the last 18 months due to a new business I started earning some pretty sweet government contracts.  Now our plan is to rebuild, and will have a permit this month for our new 3175 sqft elevated 3 story home (I'm going to live in this one)

If everything goes smooth, 9 months from now we should have our baby... and by baby I mean our tool to build our financial freedom.  The home should EASILY appraise above $700k under current market conditions, leaving plenty of equity to re-invest into other properties.  Part of me thinks I should cancel the build and invest the cash, but 1) We need a place to live and 2)  I'm still going to bet on long term appreciation based on the activity in my market.  

Keep your fingers crossed for me and reach out with any advise!  Looking forward to growing as a bigger pockets member!