I have done interior ivy walls, ice cream makers, fresh squeeze orange juice, and even converted an outdoor shed into a "Van Gough Art Studio" to give 1 house a leg up.

Sir - i'm in Orange County, NY. 

Judy

@Rob K.It is great that you have such a well performing asset building tax-free wealth in your Roth IRA.I think you may be mixing apples and oranges in your analysis of investing with tax-deferred funds. 

Well, we don’t own a G-5 like @Jay Hinrichs 🤣, and our process is much more local, but not much different in terms of borrower and property qualification.We only lend in Los Angeles and North Orange County.

Hey everyone!  Thanks for letting me be part of your community.  I am looking forward to being here and learning more.  I am a licensed agent in NY and working on getting licensed in PA.
I'm interested in purchasing ...

I also don't love that in a market where buyers are already having affordability issues, especially where i am (Orange County, CA) where most 30-somethings are already struggling to piece together a minimum down, they will likely be slapped with an additional cost in paying their own agent. even at 2%, on an entry level $1m home, that's an extra $20k most don't have.IMO, this just made our affordability situation worse. and i don't see it reducing home prices, i see it benefitting the seller to pocket that extra 3%-ish at a time of record equity building over the last few years. 

So in his mind you need to put high end finishes in a duplex versus basic finishes in a detached single family, but then this becomes an apples to oranges comparison.The only real way to know is to have plans drawn up and get actual bids based on those plans.  

If anyone is looking for contracting services in the Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, give our company Reliable Construction & Doors a look.

You are comparing buying a primary residence vs investing and this is an apples to oranges comparison.