To top in off, we're finally settling an estate this week,  about $200K plus for us.If you were in my shoes, what would you do??

Hi DianeI might be getting into similar shoes.

I could spend years looking for a team/mentor/partner/contractor,etc and find no one who adds value, or you can stroll into a bar and find someone by chance.. 

Depends on the individual investor, their current age, etc.Someone's idea of retirement might be living on 30k a year and traveling the world on a shoe string budget.

(possibly a roommate before)We are also considering converting the place into a duplex with and adding a bathroom for a 1/1 and a 2/1 or 3/1 and a studio(converting the garage).If you were in my shoes would you think this is a good deal?

If you were in my shoes, how would you use the abundance of time and travel perks to further your own investing progress and/or provide value to a more experienced investor you hope to learn from? 

I’ve been in your shoes.

Not a 100% clear on how this looks like for a woman, but for a man the equivalent would be wearing a sports jacket, dress shoes, beard if possible etc :) Goodluck!

The scenario where you use a conventional style mortgage makes the most sense in your shoes.

In your shoes, if you are using a low using a low down payment loan then there probably won't be enough equity left to sell or refinance so your only option is to hold.