Everything we did had a value add piece to it.

There are alot of real estate strategy out there which will allow you to obtain a piece of property unconventionally. 

If you care to learn about the distinctions, read these posts:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/517/topics/1215989-expl...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51-tax-legal-issues-con...2.

Cody,If you want to work with a bank or lender to build on a piece of vacant land you will need to be on title of the land for at least 6 months.

However if you try to charge $20 for each piece of tape or something else egregious I would expect a magistrate to consider that usurious and not allow it.

In Washington State, there’s often a distinction between short-term guests and tenants, but repeated and continuous occupancy can blur those lines.

However, exploring out of state markets could offer stronger cash flow upfront, so it’s worth evaluating both paths.A piece of advice would be to focus on building your core 4  team: agent, lender, contractor, and property manager.

I think they are the most critical piece of the puzzle when investing from a distance.

Next piece of advice is shop this deal around with someone through the forums or local real estate groups (google for your area). 

Appreciation on the other hand is the biggest piece of the real estate pie.