It took me 2 years to rebuild it and of course I had 2 years of lost revenue.  

The lot/location will be worth something for a rebuild some day.Secondly, trying to figure out the best way to borrow for this. 

It gives us the opportunity to rebuild much better.  

I am a novice real estate investor. I currently live in a 150 year old house that is 3bd 1 ba, approx 1000 sft, and was purchased in 2008 at it's highest value. With the exception of the roof, just about every part of...

Do contractors generally wait for insurance funds to kick in or do I need to lay out the down payment?

Even if we lose everything now, we have the knowledge to rebuild it all up all over again in time.I have heard it said, and said it myself several times.

I'm just saying cash is the safe bet for now and could put you in the position to make some good moves in the future.If you're not risk averse and have plenty of time to rebuild your nest egg, there are several stocks that seem poised to profit and/or rebound right now. 

So far I have had the boys strip a roof (used contractor to put on the roof) - resulted in boys in landfill jail for not having the cash (I did not know no credit cards) - boys claim there were 7 layers, take down 2 large trees, add 3 sister boards to a garage rafter, build 2 fence segments including an 8’ high fence, add dumpster stops to concrete to prevent fence damage, add privacy screen to a chain link fence (took surprisingly long - hog rings really do not work well), remove and rebuild a privacy partition on to a wall, rehang a gate with better hinges, weed an abandoned yard (unit caught fire in oct and due to Corona work has stopped - slightly wet winter and weeds were 4’ tall), plant a new citrus tree.  

Without this opportunity (this sudden influx of free time), you might not even have gotten the chance to truly reflect and rebuild.

Buy a multi-unit in Kansas using FHA, live in one of them, and rebuild.