That said, figuring out if and what to outsource is important to make sure you're spending your time doing high impact work..

All IRA-related transactions must be "arm's length", in other words, IRA can't get involved in any transaction with yourself, your immediate family members or any entities these individuals own or control. 

At this point I can't fathom spending close to $100k in repairs and potentially being right back where I started.

I did not see marketing costs, nights that you need to spend at networking meetings paying for dinners or memberships.

Both assets have two ways to make you money:Regular income (rent/dividends)Appreciation (property value/stock price)🛠️ Control FactorNow, here's where real estate often shines - you have more control!

For the last example, you spend $3K to put all the mailers out, so you would spend $3,000 to get a return of $20,000..

That bet didn't pay...At the end of the day, deportations and tariffs are things us RE investors can't control, so instead, focus on things you can control. 

If tenants controlled themselves and behaved as they should most would probably be OWNERS not renters.

Get a gander at your competition and see what they are offering and take it up a notch.You might check Fiverr or TaskRabbit (not sure for interior designer) and see who is out there.They should be able to help you out remotely and without spending a ton of dough.

You spend a lot of time and money having people do this work, and at the end of the day you don't net any more income compared to a long term rental.