Surface mold can be cleaned off, but if mold roots into the walls and woodwork, most of that will have to be replaced.

later learned they like to gnaw woodwork/trim

NIMBYs come out of the woodworks to fight Multifamily in Marin.

You are (almost) living the dream life of my younger self - Mine would have included some white water, skiing and SCUBA - but enough of that So lets talk REI - If I were in your (rock climbing) shoes, here is what I would do - Use your 100k to pay cash for your first investment - you should easily be able to find a property to generate the $1,000 / mo with a $100,000 investment - Here in the houston area, we can get about $1,000 with just a bit more than $100,000 --- maybe $110,000 - $120,000  and that looks like a < 10year old home in a great neighborhood - but I'm sure you can get better returns with something less expensive in the midwest - Next I would just continue to enjoy your life and work occasionally while saving a bit of your income for the next purchase --- when you live below your means, it has a tendency to pile up pretty quick -- once you have a few thousand in passive income, you should be a more attractive applicant for financing to to accelerate your acquisition rate - The good news is that you are starting super young and it will be difficult to keep from acquiring a massive portfolio by the time you are at most people's "normal" retirement age-The other option (and less desirable in my opinion - although probably easier in the beginning) is to find someone with a good job/income, but zero money to invest (this forum has them coming out of the woodwork) and partner with them on the purchase --- use part of your $100,000 for down payments on several and keep a bit in reserve for emergencies--Whatever you do, you are way ahead of the masses- Enjoy the lifestyle and Happy Investing,jeff

Chris,Insuring a multi-use building can be tricky if the Mercantile use is a restaurant, wood working shop, etc. that are deemed to be a more hazardous exposure. 

-Unit interiors (does it have natural woodwork?

Must be must be no longer than 4-5 monthsHere's some ideas so far:These are usually only 3-4 months*real estate license*real estate appraiser school*real estate mortgage broker school Would like to see about some type of vocational schools that anyone thinks is beneficial: A/C repair, woodworking, electrical, kitchen cabinets?

Now since roughly October we've been approached by buyers and almost half of the properties are closing in the coming months.It's like money is coming out of the woodwork. 

This house was a very luxurious place back in it's day, so there is a lot of woodwork and such with paint.

He's right, newer is usually better.20s, you'll have knob and tube wiring, fuse box, often 60 to 100 amp service, iron pipe for water lines, lath and plaster walls, wood work, fixtures and hardware that will be difficult to replace or duplicate, small closets with single doors, often you'll have stone foundations, odd size windows and smaller rooms.