I feel that my money would go further and be safer splitting a property with him (helping him as well) than in my inflated market.So i guess in general with this post, I'm hoping to hear from anyone who has experience in the area, specific areas to invest in, connections with investor friendly RE agents/contractors/property managers, anything will help.  

If you ever want to grab coffee and talk shop, give me a shout. 

Some numbers for your perusal:Purchase price: 70kLand value plus shop 35kMoney this house could easily eat before all is said and done in fixing it $70KValue if we poured $70K into this house  $120-130K todayValue as-is  $55KRent the house could fetch if we dropped $5K into it  $800/moExisting mortgage $622/month pitiCould refinance to a piti of $500/monthI ran a scenario where, if I dropped $10k to stabilize the condition of the house and $25k to convert the garage to a studio apartment (rent for $300), it would be around 10 years before I could break even.Thanks for any advice or insight you can offer as you play the what-if game with me.

Now shopping for another.

Last builder I worked for closed up shop and a left me to fend for myself.

If you’ve purchased your property with enough margin and this occurs you just take the face value of the policy, close shop on that asset, buy another, and possibly pocket a few bucks in the process.

It is a retail store that will rent VHS & DVDs by the day and you can shop around the store for a decent selection :) :) 

Just like shopping for cars, like I always tell others that are buying houses, yet I don't apply the same logic to my own situation, lol.  

In my mind it, safer than buying a house without a tenant.  

Most of them are shopped around to many people.