I found this article encouraging for any one in the real estate investment game:  https://emcaplending.com/2021-...Though there are more details in the article, the following paragraph provides a glimpse at its general discussion:"While moving against the general economic trends in 2020, the housing market made great gains throughout the year.

Going through a mortgage broker is the best as they will be able to shop several loan options for you and present you the pros and cons of all.Yes, house hacking is great and I encourage this.

I appreciate the encouragement! 

LolaHi Lola,You might want to encourage the board to get 3 or 4 more bids for the block work.Perhaps get an architect (or an engineer) to help you write up a "Written Bid Request" for the (Needed) and (Optional) repair work.With a written bid request, you can be sure you are comparing apples to apples, and getting the required work done.Also, the Architect or Engineer may have a list of workmen to share with you that they have used successfully in the past on similar jobs.Good Luck! 

This sounds reasonable, but I would encourage to consider investing in a lower cost market. 

Here is where I want to encourage caution and patience.  

You will get one soon - THANKS for the reply, encouragement and things to look at.

One thing I encourage my investors to do before really pulling the trigger is RUN THE NUMBERS!

If it's a larger property, take into account how much work it will require to get in good condition, how much time you have to commit to that, what the area looks like, will you be able to attract tenants to the area, does local government encourage property ownership through taxes and regs, and are there good contractors in the area to respond to your work items.

Those that do cash for keys Reward/encourage undesired behaviorMake it difficult for LL who are properly screening tenants from being able to detect a problem tenant.