Something I do with my wife is quarterly money dates.

You might save a full percent just doing that and you have tons of money you didn’t pay in points.

As mentioned, we "openly and notoriously" record the deed for the world to see so there is no hiding things from the bank (which could be construed as fraud not to mention poses many other risks for creditor liens, etc.) 

While I could have gone lower I am lowering my risk tolerance because I expect a recession in late 2019 to 2020.

While it makes homeownership more accessible, it is a good sum of money that is not contributing to your equity.2. 

However, if single-family homes prove financially viable, I’m happy to continue building in that niche.Since these homes and projects are significantly cheaper than my market, the risk is relatively lower for me and can do at least two at a time.The ChallengeOne of the biggest hurdles is finding reliable contractors and subcontractors in the area.

My strategy incorporates asset protection measures like LLCs, specific trusts as well as professional property management to spread risk and ensure quality operations.As well as using tax codes to my benfiitSection 179, IRC Section 162, Cost Segregation and Bonus Depreciation and later 1031 them out for larger projects. 

Credit checks tell you some sense of how they handle their money.

(Others would be more boring and say it’s just my money earning money.

In the meantime I would put the money in a low risk account gaining 4-5% which for $250k would be around $1k/month.Hey Chris - what is driving the sentiment not to buy anything right now?