Quote from @Shoaib Ali Chaudhary: There are investors out there with money and knowledge of numbers, but no skills with a hammer.

So either 70% of them are liars, or EV’s are just a bad choice.

Buying down the rate with points is a personal choice, but if you're holding the property long-term, it can definitely be worth it for more stable cash flow.

Quote from @Will Clark: Nothing to my knowledge is an upgrade from Launch.

I've been investing in the stock market for 30+ years, but am at the point where I'm ready to diversify more into real estate.I've been lurking on the forums here for quite some time and I am amazed at the value of the posts and level of knowledge that exists here.

I want to increase my personal income to help fund a second rental, but my career limits me mainly to remote jobs and gigs.I’m curious if there are any other investors out there that started with a similar skill set to mine, and what other skills they developed to help increase their W2 income and to help build their real estate knowledge and experience? 

As a GC I can advise try to retain control of your finishing material orders (anything where you need to make a choice ((tile, flooring, lites, faucets, tubs)) vs. construction materials (2x4s, mortar, shingles)) because we get those discounts on the finishing items and we keep them!

There's pluses and minuses to each choice....For Financing, the HML here in the states always drop and restart their Foreign National Programs. 

TN wasn’t a choice when I chose so I went with the low property tax, cheap insurance, no income tax, no weather, low maintenance, cheaper and newer inventory location that everyone is moving to. 

These areas will require a good amount of on the ground knowledge that you probably don't want to spend the time getting.