However the basement needs a kitchenette installed, 5/8" drywall on the ceiling, and a bathroom expansion to accommodate a shower stall.All in to make the basement a self sustainable apartment, I estimated roughly $32,000 in rehab costs.

@Michael Haynes who in their right mind would invest in mutual funds that have high performing fees and fail to be the market over any sustained period of time.

Having 5-10  dwellings in this kind of rural community invites disaster during the recession-Not enough high paid jobs to sustain revenue.  

A lot of great info in this thread, but I'm wondering about the sustainability of the prices.

What's even worse are the ones that have some money to blindly invest and are lucky enough to be in a sustained bull market, using as much leverage as they can manage to acquire, and then lose everything when the market turns bearish, which it always does. 

Real estate is a great way to build the wealth that can be sustainable for life even before you retire from a full time career, or keep real estate investing as the sole income and purpose. 

If we had experienced only normal appreciation as opposed to the steroided, Hulk-type appreciation (which is not sustainable) then we would all be singing a different tune.

It really is going to come down to your area of Boone and what the comparable are for that area, then add about $100.00 per month if you think the area can sustain the increase.

The home appraised for $180k and i was attempting to open a new loan at $105K, take some cash out, and roll it into the next project while sustaining a desirable amount of cash flow and not over leveraging the property.  

I have a couple property management contracts for cash flow (need 25 more to sustain), but am now in the situation to make a decision like yours.