I ended up spending some extra time making the finished basement legal (add insulation and egress).   

You might find that installing a mini-split system, properly insulating, and ensuring the finishes match the main home’s quality will make a difference in how the appraiser views it.

I agree with @Gregory Schwartz that as long as your eyes are open, you are asking good questions, you have resources and have surrounded yourself with a good agent and PM, take the leap and learn as you go.

This influx of workers will naturally drive demand for housing, retail, and other services in the surrounding areas, especially in smaller towns and cities that haven't seen major growth in decades.

Need more information surrounding why your current lender is suggesting they cannot utilize the rental income on your investment property.

It’s about surrounding yourself with people who think big and act fast.

Surplus line is what I have been looking for as I am involved with an older property that is typically found to be uninsurable by a lot of other mainstream insurance companies due to the properties age and some of its original features and surroundings, I just have a question and have done some reading on this and it's really not too clear and it sounds it can go either way really with this and I'm fairly new to all this so I am learning a lot of things as I go but should the private non traditional mortgage lender be listed as additional insured while the person occupying & buying the home and also purchasing the property from the lender be listed as mortgagee?

You can only use a handyman for jobs under $500 as I recall....which will exclude tile, drywall, insulation, paint and well pretty much everything.... 

Quote from @JD Martin: I can't speak to rates - I think eventually they come down out of sheer necessity - but as far as the economy we must be living in an insulated bubble up here in Northeast Tennessee; no one has bothered telling us the economy is bad.

This is not the first I have heard this in the industry surrounding Solo 401(k)'s.