If you focus on creating great spaces, you'll be able to generate strong returns with less worry.You seem to have a solid foundation—keep leaning into that.

I created a Google form that has the real estate activity listed in the column and the number of hours spent on each task in the row.

Your architect can create this for you.For hot water heaters, is there a lock on the door to that room?

I'm also relieved that I hired a local real estate attorney to help create a county-specific, legal MTR agreement for our house-hacking situation.

Or at least create plans for emergencies.

Given your stage of life, this could be challenging but worthwhile if you’re confident in handling the stretch.Sell, and reinvest in cash-flow rentals: Using part of the equity to generate cash flow with out-of-state rentals could create a retirement income stream now while still capturing SoCal appreciation.

This renovation took 2.5 weeks for two guysScope of WorkDemo and gut entire kitchen, gut one bedroom, and partial gut of bathroomBuild new closet and frame out a wall to create a bedroomInstall new laminate flooring in two bedroomsInstall new subpanel and new electrical for entire apartmentNew (and some reused) cabinetsNew quartz countertopNew (but bought used) 24" rangeNew microwave and fridge (new fridge not shown in photos)New toilet, medicine cabinet and vanity light in bathroom New built-in kitchen table and chairsCost of Work (approximately)Labor $6,500Cabinets $2,000 - I bought some nice, used Ikea cabinets from Craigslist for a previous job and I had some left over.

There will be much more government spending and jobs created in Mcallen to secure the border, leading to continued population growth.

More percentage-based fees are a bit disappointing since on larger homes or longer bookings of, say, $10k a 7% processing fee would equate to $700 in channel fees for bookings hosts effectively created on their own. 

When rates go down there will be more buyers in the market creating more competition and driving up prices.