I just mentioned the potential increased rent in optimism....lol.

Hello, I'm a current MBA student at the Georgetown University developing the concept for a real estate investment analysis website that seeks to help real estate investors to optimize their investments by providing analysis on properties that meet their investment criteria.

Some dollars and planning would need to be put into the project upfront to optimize the design and logistics.

Both ways could work but pick one first and optimize it before spreading your time too thin.

It feel like it's slowly lifting some weight off my shoulders when I do, so I think psychologically its the much better way to go even if the math returns aren't optimized.

While SFD's are an easy first time investment, I find with buy and hold strategies that my multi-family properties (duplexes, 9 plexes and mobile home parks) far outperform my SFD's over time AND the commercial properties don't count towards the Fannie Mae 10 property maximum that can stop you dead in your tracks when trying to obtain optimal financing terms (lower interest rates, etc).

You are doing neither… Sometimes my optimism also gets me into trouble too!

Next best thing that makes me actually a #4, I have 5 years REI experience, and I know exactly how to optimize a house for its size, location, and what to do or where to get materials at rock bottom.

OK, in terms of books I can recommend these.Search Engine Optimization for DummiesABC of SEOThat will convey the basics.

@Andrew Beaver If you want to get really deep into things, check out a couple of books/papers on 'Optimism Bias' and 'Planning Fallacy.'