I'm 100% in real estate and precious metals.  

With this setup you would be able to invest in alternative assets of your choice (real estate, precious metals, trust deeds, etc).

She is truly a real estate investor....but on the conservative (not comfortable with debt) end of the continuum.Others could have taken that same precious capital and invested it in 4 similar properties, with 25% down payments and 75% loans/leverage, and controlled $900k in property that doubled to $1.8M by now.

I am interested in the meet up in Latham at the end of august as well so thanks for that tip I am going to try to make it out! 

You're welcomeI can't see the mudroom from the photos, but assuming you can displace a couple of pipes and wires a little bit, how about this:Bedroom will be small but feasible with a twin bed or maybe full bed and a decent closet.If needed, you could leave the kitchen counter up to the dotted lines, but better move the sink until the edge of the mudroom window.Moving the Bedroom door will give you a decent stretch of wall for a cabinet/TV or a desk, as well as making better use of the precious sqft near basement door, it's really worth considering.Finishes can only enhance a good layout, but there's not much one can do with a bad layout.You know you have a good or decent enough layout when you can place furniture in a usable manner.

Most investors  purchase those precious few properties with cash.

IRA's, Stocks, Bonds, precious metals, art, real estate etc.

Licensed Real Estate Investor/Agent based in Augusta, GA can provide turnkey investor services (deal sourcing, due diligence, funding, etc.).  

Death, Divorce, Dislocation, DensityDeath - very unfortunate topic, but death creates heirs that will have a lot of items to sort through, so a good option is people clear a house asap to rent or sell, then grab a storage unit so they can "sift through" things slowly over time.. many times NEVER.. and pay the fee instead of being "inconvenienced" to have to go sort through their mothers precious china collection.Same reason the rental increases for SS are crazy vs Apartments.. raise $150 storage rent by $9 a month = 6% rental increase. would you go rent a truck, take a full saturday in the 90 degree heat, hire movers, to move your crap down the street to save $9 a month?

A mutual fund might hold stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities, futures, options, cash, precious metals, etc.If your time horizon is 2 years or less I do not recommend putting your money into anything other than cash instruments.