When the crash came, I predicted on FB that by the time this was over, the Greeks would be kissing the whips of their financial overlords after each beating and congratulating each other on having the wisdom to submit to such masterful masters.

We go really cheap on some things, like paint,  towel/toilet paper holders, and go higher end on things like faucets.. as others have mentioned, it's an art and you have to find your balance.Also... so  many people forget-- this is someone's future home, this isn't a mutual fund/stock, so you need to focus on what things will make your tenants happy! 

I have yet to work with a lender that has successfully made a loan on a member stock sale transaction less than $10mm. 

There was a study done on the long-term return of single-family rentals versus traditional investments (stocks, bonds, etc.) all the way back to the 1870s.

., permits, approvals, key fixtures), but were unprepared for the time associated with some of the smaller details—the lead time for the tiles we selected, not having planned our lighting fixtures and then having to redo electrical work when we picked a side versus top mounted light, having to scramble when selected items were unexpectedly out of stock, etc.

Also, through normal economic cycles—I would think a stock market correction may be naturally occurring in 12-18 months so I can accept a modest returnI only have exterior pictures of the property which shows it as “fine/livable”.

If you are getting a negative COC with the service debt, then the property will not make you any money but cost you money. that means the percentage in your original calculation, paying full price, would be the most you would make on the property. but you would not want all that money tied into one property, yes you would make money, but you may make more than the 2% in the stock market.

I have saved up about 225k in cash and another 230k in stocks consisting of 401k and iras of with I could pull out a total of about 150k of.

For example - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX). 

Think of it like a car, would you pay more for the EXACT car you wanted in stock and drive it back?