The idea of buying land and building my ideal house has been brought up by my parents. just looking to weight my options.

Apparently one of the kids received a silicon oven liner (as a gift) that you put on the lower rack(s) to catch drips etc. http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Miu-Heavy-weight-Commercial-Non-stick-Oven-Liner/7900414/product.html Unfortunately she put it on the very bottom of the oven & we had a CO emergency.

The way I typically view vacation rentals (Beach/Snow) is that you will pay for the mortgage and the expected revenue minus upkeep/ property management will possibly pay the HOA/Taxes/Insurance.  

Personally I take a financial planning approach and I put most of the decision weight on financials.

As somebody who self-manages my properties, I put a lot more weight on the location and type of renters I can attract than on maxing out my returns because the returns don't factor in the additional work that is required on the higher return properties.

The cost of not having an education in this business far out weighs the cost of having one.So I recommend that you do your due diligence and find a good course or mentor because they are out there and a good one is worth his/her weight in gold!

I just want to see how much weight several properites put on me compared to the one i have now.

Michael G, a good accountant is worth his weight in gold.

With management fees and $300 a unit a year for upkeep, I calculate a 8% cap rate (assuming full asking price).

Does everyone typically end up keeping your security deposits?