When you can close on a home sale in a short period of time those 2% and 3% checks pile up cash fast. 

These loans allow buyers to purchase a property “AS IS, WHERE IS”.Renovation loans are available in 30, 20- and 15-year fixed rate terms and can be used to purchase owner occupied, second home and investment properties.By time the renovations are completed, the home needs to be in move-in, live-in condition and conceptually ready to be resold without repair issues.Other Important Items to Know about “Conventional” Renovation LoansMaximum – Minimum Purchase/Upgrade Amounts:Maximum: Limited to 75% of the “after improved” valueOccupancy: Primary, Second Homes, Investment PropertiesRenovation Term:The renovation term for this program is a maximum of 180 days.The Borrower(s) is responsible for the work being completed within the escrow period.

Someone who is less risk averse may be willing to wait to see if rates drop more significantly and take the higher rate for now and refinance down the road but for the less risk averse, it's definitely a meaningful conversation and pretty easy to quantify by taking the cost and dividing it by the monthly payment savings to determine a "break even" period to see if that makes sense for the client.Curious to hear others' thoughts on this.

Please recommend a SAFE way to invest cash ( ~20k) for a short period of time, about 6 months. 

It depends on the rental period.  

You can buy any program out there, but if you're not willing to put in the work for an extended period of time, it's not gonna work

Currently, the City generally categorizes short-term rentals, such as Airbnb or Vrbo, as hotel, motel, or bed and breakfast uses because the lease period is less than 30 days.

Negotiations during the due diligence period can be a tricky ordeal.   

What are the terms of the “redemption period” of Montgomery county, PA?

How Cost Segregation Works: Cost segregation studies break down a building's components into categories that can be depreciated over shorter periods.