The benefits are purely intellectual......money.A fourplex will profit handsomely and you should still be able to at least break even if not profit even if only 3 units are rented and a vacancy is taking time to fill.Safety in numbers basically.Get as many fourplexes as possible as well as triplexes.

However, from a pure out-of-pocket cost, cash for keys is less expensive than new plumbing because they dumped cement in the toilet, then flushed.

I've always believed architect as designer and developer made the most sense, and for me it's about having design freedom to create better spaces that are not purely financial and developer driven.  

She has a contract to fulfill, pure and simple. 

DIY is great for your primary residence as it is a good way to save on labor costs and learn the ropes, but it has its limits with a pure investment.

Do a straight lease and a pure option, record the option to cloud the title.3.

I'd say that from what I've seen (both from some data mining and from pure empirical evidence), your myth vs reality points are right on.I certainly have data to support the fact that several institutional buyers (and I use that term lightly -- many are just large private equity funds that most people probably wouldn't call "institutions") are buying up to 200+ properties per month in my metro area (which is a large area, btw).We've found about 100 cash buyers who have purchased 20+ properties in our metro area in the past 12 months, and I'm guessing (I don't have the data in front of me) about 10% of them have purchased at least 100 properties in the past 12 months.To you second point, yes, many of them are new buyers in the area, and the larger ones are brand new to the area in the past 12 months.

And back then that lender was a pure equity lender.

The answer is either based on subjective personal preference or on objective financial calculations.There is little advantage to be gained from a pure maximum return criteria on 15 year financing with today's low rates.

Don't say race or whatever protected classes there are.If you just state facts, how could you lose a lawsuit if stating pure verifiable facts?