We used to sit in his lavish study in the basement of his downtown mansion and talk shop.

That all makes sense for luxury properties.

Not quite luxury and not quite your average.

Acquired over $5M in real estate - which includes the path of buying a duplex with my VA loan, a SFH 5 months later with a 1% down loan, a 4-plex with my VA loan 2 years later, built a custom dream home with an AirBnB suite, completed a horribly over budget BRRRR SFR, completed another SFR that went way over budget, sold my quad for a 4-unit office commercial space, sold my 4-plex for a luxury cabin in Oklahoma AND most recently bought a brand new home to use part time while visiting my girlfriend/future wife in Florida.All of this wouldn't have ever happened if my butt didn't get dumped.

Step into the living and dining rooms filled with natural light and outfitted with new luxury flooring, fixtures and finishes throughout.

Look only at those properties that are like yours -- number of beds, luxury level, similar location, and offered year around, for example.   

I'm seeing houses in that market for half the price that would be sufficient for the next 3-5 years, then you could use the remainder of your cash to purchase investments.You've got to learn to give up some luxuries in life if you want to get ahead, then you enjoy the luxuries once you're successful.

Currently we are researching the pipeline boundaries and may build 2 lakes.This 306 acre tract is designated for a luxury RV Park.

This is particularly true for tourism-dependent STRs (tourism-dependent markets tend to get hit hardest in recession, because recreational travel is often the first thing people cut from their budget in a tough economy).To make things even more complicated, Air Bnb recently changed their platform significantly to focus on A+ top-end, highly unique properties (think: luxury waterfront treehouses).

We have seen trends and can see new commercial + luxury apartments being built that don’t even appear online just yet.Most experienced investors appear to be pulling numbers out of thin air but in reality, they just know that particular market well.If you’re starting out in apartment investing, stick to what you can find online and the baseline assumptions.