Mat I'll try help you answer those questions we own properties STR in Charleston SC

My current thoughts:Insulate exterior walls with basalt stonewool, like RockwoolUse cement backer board behind the showerUse DensArmor Plus Drywall in the bathroom because the gypsum is wrapped in fiberglass mats and should prevent moldEncase the whole bathroom in Schluter Kerdi Water membraneStill deciding between tiling the shower, or using an acrylic shower enclosure.This is probably overkill, but I'd rather have a belt and suspenders on, than find out I need to remodel a bathroom again in 5-6 years.I'm in Oakland, CA, in the Fruitvale.

I willing to pay and don’t want a Mickey Mouse solution.

There are a lot of laundry mats in the area the closest one being about 5 minutes away. so I think having laundry would be a really nice Amenity.

Here's what the crawlspace looks like:White efflorescence on about half the concrete foundation blocks, indicating some water intrusionWhite mold in small patches in 1 or 2 spots on the floor joistsA few droppings indicating a mouse or other pest is living thereCondensation dripping off the AC duct work into a small puddle on the vapor barrier, plus one other small standing puddle with no visible source (not a leak, maybe recent heavy rain)I obtained 3 bids from different companies to remove the existing vapor barrier and fully encapsulate the crawl space and install a dehumidifier (2 bids came in at $15k and $16k, one came in for $26k which also included mold remediation and a sump pump and trenching).

@Colin M. At

Things changed for unknown reasons, and now...our Partner wants to do a 75/25 Partnership instead because she's willing to put up 80% of the down payment = $20,000 and my wife and I to put up the remaining 20% = $5,000 - - we'd be all in for $25,000 totalI ran the numbers using the BP rental property calculator on the 5 Unit Multifamily, and Cashflow = $1,560/moCashflow =  $1,560 Partner  = 75% of $1,560 =  $1,170/mo    US      = 25% of $1,560 =  $390/moI understand that $5,000 for a 25% stake on a rural 5 unit Multifamily on 1acre of land isn't that bad.

@Mat O'Grady thank you I appreciate it, I’ll take it into account I’d love to meet new people who are more experienced

I would ALWAYS suggest including the local police non emergency line, that comes in handy often and prevents unnecessary 911 calls.Even if utilities are paid by you, it's not a bad idea to include the numbers of your eclectic, gas, and water providers- even if their names aren't on accounts, they can find out when power will be restored quickly (saving you or PM a three am call maybe)As far as gifts go and actual items, things that would apply to most everyone in being useful seem like a good idea (an not offensive in any way like scented candles - those items are not across the board items) but things like nice dish towels, simple kitchen tools/gadgets, a welcome mat, fridge notepads and nice pens, etc. 

Here's the breakdown, let me know if this sounds stupid. 1st home with VA loan (4b/4ba) – $300K @ 3.25% for 15 years.Mortgage payment = $2100/moI use $1000/mo from my Army housing allowance and live in one room, sublease the other 3 rooms for $750/mo each ($3250/mo total).Total monthly cashflow: $3250– $2100 = $1150/mo2nd home with other lender (3b/2b) - $250K @ 3.5% for 15 years.Mortgage payment = $1800/moUse $1150/mo from previous cashflow toward this, and sublease the 3 rooms for $750/mo each ($3400/mo total)Total monthly cashflow: $3400 - $1800 = $1600/moApply for 3rd mortgage, rinse and repeat using the cash flow.Does this model make sense?